When We Touched
by Starlin's Ghost
Summary: In a world where not many people find their soulmates, Marinette and Adrien are hoping they'll be lucky. However, as the miraculous enter their lives, their chances become nearly impossible as one type of magic interferes with another. But one day Adrien transforms into a black cat and Marinette a ladybug… Soulmate AU where once soulmates touch, they can turn into animals.
1. Chapter 1: A Cat on the Catwalk

**A/N: I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir**

 **Summary (extended): In a world where less than 15% of people find their soulmates, Marinette and Adrien are hopeful that they'll be one of the lucky few. However, as the miraculous enter their lives, their chance of finding their soulmate becomes just short of impossible as one type of magic interferes with another. Unbelievably though, one day Adrien transforms into a black cat and Marinette a ladybug... What does fate have in store for them? Soulmate Alternate Universe where once soulmates touch, they each turn into a specific "soul animal."**

* * *

CHAPTER 1: A Cat on the Catwalk

"Mama?"

"Yes, Adrien?"

"Can you turn into a butterfly?"

"Sure, honey." Emilie Agreste sat on the edge of Adrien's bed, tucking him in for the night. She ran a hand through his blond locks. "But only for a little while, okay?"

Adrien nodded enthusiastically and watched as his mother changed in a flash of light. When the light died down, a light purple butterfly was in her place. Adrien gasped and reached out a hand, awed at the transformation even though he had seen it before.

Butterfly Mrs. Agreste landed on Adrien's outstretched fingers, and he giggled, tickled by her insect legs. She then took off again, only to land on Adrien's cute 5-year-old button nose.

Adrien closed his eyes in delight, loving the feeling of having his mother so close. His brain couldn't quite comprehend yet how rare, vulnerable, and meaningful this was; how lucky he was to have parents that were soulmates, and that his mother was willing to change into her butterfly form for him. Seeing a soul animal transformation was not something many 5-year-olds were able to experience.

The moment ended too soon for his liking though, as his mother flew back into the air to transform back into her human self.

She sat back down on the bed and kissed Adrien's head goodnight. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Mama." Adrien blinked, sleepily, but then his eyes widened as a thought came to his mind.

"Mama," he called, as she was halfway across the room. She turned around, waiting patiently. "Why can you turn into a butterfly?"

Emilie was surprised for a second, but a warm smile immediately came back to her face. "It's because your father and I are soulmates, honey. I can turn into a butterfly and your father can turn into a peacock. You should ask him about it sometime."

Adrien's eyes widened with this information; his parents were so cool! His brow furrowed in thought, all thoughts of sleep forgotten.

"Do all girls turn into butterflies?"

Mrs. Agreste laughed, and sat back on the bed to indulge him. She knew these questions would come eventually, so she tried to give as much information as she could.

"No, Adrien. Each person has a different creature that they turn into when they touch their soulmate for the first time. This doesn't happen to everyone because the world is a very big place, but that's okay because people can still fall in love and be happy even if they don't find their soulmate. Your grandparents are like that, and they are still very happy."

"Okay," the boy answered, absorbing the information. Emilie smiled at his contemplative expression and squeezed his little hand in encouragement.

"Will I ever meet my soulmate?" he inquired, green eyes begging for an answer.

"Maybe," she said, and watched as he frowned at that uncertainty. "It's all up to fate, after all." After a moment, she bopped him on the nose lightly with her finger, startling him out of his thoughts. "But right now it's time for bed, mister."

Adrien giggled at his mother's antics, his mind wide-awake from all this new knowledge. But he acquiesced, snuggling down further into his blankets. She tucked him in further, and once again kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight, sweetie."

"Night, Mama."

When she was almost out the door, he called for her again. As she turned around in the doorframe, he turned his body towards her, his eyes filled with something akin to worry.

"How will I know?"

"How will you know who your soulmate is?" She guessed, knowingly. Adrien merely nodded. Her grin grew fond as her eyes sparked with a memory.

"Trust me, you'll know," was her cryptic reply, and she left the room before Adrien could ask any more questions.

While Adrien would have loved to stay up pondering all that he had learned, his body soon forced him into unconsciousness. When he woke up the next morning, his dreams of a black cat and a ladybug were soon forgotten amongst the business of the day.

* * *

 _Present Day…_

"We're on in five!"

Adrien nodded, barely registering the chaos around him as the various designers around him finished adjusting small details on their models. His father had inspected his outfit and makeup just a few minutes before, only to leave the main dressing room for his seat in the audience.

Adrien knew he should be focused on the show, but couldn't help but be distracted by the warmth growing in his chest. It had been there all day, he realized. Slowly growing over time, but undeniably present. It had been there ever since…. _ever since Ladybug kissed me on the cheek._

Was this it? Was Ladybug really his soulmate? Would it finally happen after all the agony they had endured?

"Adrien!"

His head snapped up, eyes refocusing on his surroundings. "Yes?" he inquired, a bit sheepish.

The show coordinator glared at him. "Get your head out of the clouds and turn on the charm! You're second to last- don't tell me I have to remind you how important your position is in this collection!"

"Yes, sir!" Adrien hurried to find his place in the line-up, mustering up his game face. _Focus on the show now, wonder about your soulmate later,_ he scolded himself.

The music started, a bass driven pop song that had the perfect tempo to walk to on the runway. The first model- a black woman wearing an intricate cream dress- walked out, sashaying to the beat. By the time the person in front of him stepped out onto the runway, Adrien was fully immersed in his model persona, though his nerves fluttered a bit as they did at every show.

He finally advanced down the runway, automatically flashing his practiced "smoulder," which was the look he had been instructed to embody for the night.

Suddenly, the warmth in his chest flared up. While his runway walk remained fine due to the amount of practice he had put into it over the years, his face faltered for a bit before he managed to recover. _What was that?_

He had just about made it to the end of the runway, where he would pose for a bit, when the warmth flared up even more, feeling like it was burning him from the inside out. This time, he lost control of his body, and felt himself tripping over his own feet. He instinctively held his arms out to catch himself, closing his eyes. His complete attention was drawn to what was happening inside him.

He didn't register the gasps around him as the scorching heat inside him suddenly diminished to the warm fuzziness he had felt earlier in the day. He opened his eyes, only to see that his hands in front of him were paws. Specifically, black cat paws. Wait- he was a _cat_? _Then that means!_

Adrien had finally found his soulmate! After all the despair he had felt about not being able to find his soulmate due to the interference of his Miraculous, here he was, turned into a cat because he had _finally touched his soulmate_. He probably already knew her; after all, he must have interacted with her multiple times by now. _Oh, it has to be Ladybug_ , he thought, thinking of all that had transpired.

His joy, however, was cut short when he remembered where he was. He glanced up in dread to see the onlookers in shock, cameras going off wildly, and a murmur rising in the crowd as the music continued to pump its deep bass. Focusing his gaze on the front row, he registered the deep frown coming from his father and the shocked look on Nathalie's face. He watched as his father leaned over to discretely tell Nathalie something, when a microphone suddenly entered his field of vision.

"Mr. Agreste! Is this the first time you've transformed into an animal? Do you know who your soulmate is?"

"Adrien! Who is the lucky girl? Or boy?"

"Is this your first time transforming? If not, are you making a statement on your father's newest line?"

"Mr. Agreste!"

"What kind of animal do you think your soulmate has turned into?"

"Adrien!"

"Do you know who your soulmate is?"

Adrien felt the panic building up inside him, his cat body reacting in fear. He couldn't help the hiss that left through his teeth as more people crowded around him. To his alarm, that only made the reporters swarm closer. Didn't they understand he couldn't answer their questions right now? He was a _cat_!

"Adrien!" Nathalie pushed through the paparazzi, and Adrien locked eyes with her. She nodded at him, a worried expression present on her normally stoic face, before she schooled her expression to face the press. "Adrien Agreste will not be taking questions at this time. Please step away from him."

While a few of the reporters listened, one was bold enough to touch his tail. The sudden contact made Adrien jump, his tail and hair rising as his fear spiked. It was too much! Listening to his instincts, he turned and practically bolted for the backstage area, leaving the clamoring voices behind.

When he got behind the curtain, he paused and breathed a sigh of relief, only to be assaulted by the stares of his fellow models. They had been watching the live footage of the show after they had done their own runway walks. The model that was supposed to go last after him, a woman wearing the flashiest dress in the collection, was pouting near the stage entrance.

 _This is too much._ He ran off again, remembering the way to his own personal dressing room where he had stored his bag and Plagg. _Oh, I hope Plagg can help me!_

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello my lovely readers! Thank you for clicking on and reading this story! Here are a few need-to-know details moving forward:**

 **1\. This story includes Season 1 and most of Season 2, though some of it will be altered due to the fact that it's an AU. Since I got the idea for this around S2E6, important plot ideas that come up after this point (specifically Season 3 onward) may not be included in this story. Particularly, this may affect new characters that are introduced, the details surrounding Mrs. Agreste and Hawkmoth's plans, or even details about Master Fu and the Guardians. I aim to keep things as canon as possible, but it may deviate due to certain things not coming up in canon yet.**

 **2\. This story should make sense no matter what order you watched Season 1 and 2. I know the English and French came out in different orders, so for the sake of simplicity I am *mostly* adhering to the Netflix order of episodes. Any differences are due to trying to fit the episodes best into this AU.**

 **3\. This story has two main timelines that will eventually converge. One following Adrien and Marinette after they transform into their animal selves (i.e. the present), and one following the lead up to how they eventually transformed (i.e. flashbacks/the past). A few other random flashbacks may be present as well, like in this chapter where we see adorable 5-year-old Adrien. I'm saying all this just as a warning because I'm not going to have a certain format for flashbacks. It should be pretty obvious in my writing when events are happening.**

 **I already have this story mostly planned out, so while input and ideas are most definitely appreciated, I am more curious to see your reactions! (So, review! :D) So far, I've written about 6 chapters and hope to post as often as possible. But, I've never written a long story like this before, so bear with me if there are delays! Credit goes to lillykleaf for editing/beta reading for me!**

 **Once again, thanks for reading!**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	2. Chapter 2: Soulmate Pie

**A/N: And now for Marinette's POV!**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***

* * *

CHAPTER 2: Soulmate Pie

"Ugh, Tikki, why is physics so hard?"

Marinette leaned back in her desk chair, her hand coming up to rub at her eyes.

"Don't worry, Marinette! I'm sure you'll get it done on time!" Tikki sat off to the side on her desk, munching away at a plate of cookies Marinette had put there 30 minutes earlier.

"Yeah," Marinette sighed, agreeing with her kwami. If she wasn't so distracted, she knew she could get this homework done.

It had been there all day. The same spark she associated with Adrien whenever they touched. And, more recently, Chat Noir- though she was still a bit unsure about how she felt about that. But now she was feeling the warmth even when she wasn't touching either of them. Was it finally happening? Was she going to transform and finally find her soulmate?

She blew out a raspberry, discouraged, and leaned back up in her chair to look down at her tablet again. She knew the chances of her finding her soulmate were even less than normal due to her miraculous, so she couldn't allow herself to get her hopes up. She had already fantasized _way_ too much over Adrien being her soulmate anyway.

The warmth inside her suddenly flared up, and she gasped, putting a hand over her heart.

"Marinette?" the kwami inquired, concerned.

"Tikki! I- I felt…" She trailed off, unsure how to explain it. She allowed herself to hope a little bit more than normal, because certainly she wouldn't be experiencing this if-

The heat abruptly exploded inside her again. She hunched over her body, grunting in pain. With her senses all turned inward as she changed, she was unable to see Tikki's look of concern shift into a delighted smile.

When Marinette became aware again, everything in her room was huge. Taking a moment to adjust, she realized she could no longer see the top of her desk, and that she remained in her chair. _What… happened?_

"Marinette!" A giant Tikki cried, flying down from the desk. "You finally found your soulmate!" She excitedly bobbed up and down in the air in front of Marinette, her body huge in comparison.

If Marinette were still human, her eyes would have grown wide. But instead, she felt a shiver go through her body and a heard a buzzing noise from behind her. Everything suddenly clicked. _I- I'm a ladybug!_

Allowing her newly given instincts to guide her, Marinette opened her wings fully and lifted off from her chair. Giddy, but unable to cry out in her excitement, she instead performed many loop-de-loops around her room, Tikki's laughter spurring her on.

 _I found my soulmate!_

* * *

"Mama!" Marinette ran down the steps of the school to her mother, only to cling to her at the waist.

Sabine laughed at her 6-year-old. "Hi, sweetie! How was school today?"

"Okay, I guess," Marinette mumbled, letting go of her mother.

Sabine reached down to take Marinette's hand as they started to walk back home to their new bakery. "Just okay?" she inquired. "Why was your day just okay, sweetheart?"

"Most of my day was good, but at second recess my friend Rose lied to me and everyone made fun of me." Marinette eyes shined with unshed tears.

Sabine hated to see her daughter sad, but remained calm and crouched down to Marinette's level. "What did she lie about?"

"She said her mom can turn into a bird- uh, a dove- whenever she wanted! I thought we were playing pretend, but then Rose said she was telling the truth, but she wasn't and that's why I'm sad." Marinette sniffed, and looked up tearfully at her mother. "And then when I said she was lying, the other kids made fun of me for not knowing! But they're all wrong!" Her free hand fisted up and she banged it against her leg.

"Oh, Marinette," Sabine smiled sweetly at her daughter, knowing immediately that she and Tom needed to have a very important conversation with their daughter soon. "Come on, sweetie. Let's get home and get us some cookies. You need some cheering up. Then we'll talk more about this and what you should do about it, okay?"

Marinette merely nodded, a few tears finally breaking free down her face. Sabine quickly but lovingly wiped her eyes, and then kissed her nose playfully.

"I promise everything will be alright, honey-muffin," Sabine vowed, standing up again. "Now, let's go home."

When they got to the bakery, Sabine sent Marinette up to her room with two chocolate chip cookies. Pulling aside her husband after the last person in line had walked away with their purchase, Sabine quietly informed him about their situation and the conversation they needed to have with their daughter that night.

Dinner came fast, and soon the Dupain-Cheng family sat companionably around the table. The table was filled with much chatter as Marinette and Tom discussed a new game recently released called Ultimate Mecha Strike. Sabine waited patiently, smiling fondly at her husband and daughter.

When a lull in the conversation happened, Sabine decided to interject. "Sweetie, you know how you told me earlier about your friend lying to you today?"

Marinette frowned at the mention of it, but nodded. Sabine briefly glanced at Tom before continuing, seeing that he was allowing her to take the lead on this one.

"Well, I know you were really upset that she lied, and I am so proud of you for valuing the truth, honey. But you need to know that Rose wasn't lying, sweetheart."

Marinette gasped, feeling betrayed. "Yes she did! She said her mom could turn into a bird!"

"Marinette," Tom cut in, "some people can transform into animals. I promise you, it's the truth."

"But…" Tears came unwillingly to Marinette's eyes as she struggled to understand. "Papa, can you turn into an animal? Mama?"

"No, honey, your father and I can't turn into animals. But, your grandma and grandpa Cheng can, into a tiger and a frog. Many other people can turn into animals too, sweetie, including Rose's parents."

Marinette was silent for a moment as she processed this information, coming to accept that both Rose and her parents were not lying. She was still upset at the situation, but her desire to understand overcame her inclination to throw a tantrum.

"How?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"People turn into animals when they find their soulmate, honey." At Marinette's puzzled expression, Sabine asked, "Do you know what a soulmate is?"

Marinette shook her head. "Some of my friends that made fun of me today said the word, but I don't know what it is."

"Think of it like this," Tom interjected. His two hands came forward as he gestured a circle. "When one person is soulmates with another, they are like two halves of the same pie. They make the pie complete, since each person is the other's perfect half. They are meant to be together."

Marinette only nodded in response, sensing more to the explanation.

Tom continued. "But even though a person's soulmate is the other half of their pie, that doesn't mean that they can't also be happy with someone else. Pie goes well with ice cream, right? Your mother and I are like that; we aren't soulmates, but we still go well together."

Tom reached over to his wife to give her hand a squeeze. As they gave each other a loving look, this allowed Marinette to think upon their words.

"I think ice cream and pie tastes better than pie with more pie," she resolutely declared, taking her parents by surprise. They couldn't help but laugh. Trust a baker's daughter to think with her stomach.

"Of course, sweetheart." Sabine took a bite of her dinner. "Do you have any more questions about soulmates?"

Marinette indicated that she did, and the rapid-fire questions begun.

"Do I have a soulmate?"

"Yes, you do, honey-muffin."

"Really? When will I meet them?"

"We don't know. You might meet them tomorrow or ten years from now. Or not at all, which is alright, like we said earlier."

"What animal will I turn into?"

"Nobody knows that until they touch their soulmate, Mari-bear."

"So, when I touch my soulmate, I'll change into an animal right away?"

"Not necessarily. There is always a delay. It could be a few minutes, or a whole day before you transform."

"Oh. Then how will I know who they are?"

Sabine jumped in to answer this one. "Your grandmother always told me that when she first touched her soulmate- your grandfather- it was like a shock went through her body. Other people say it's like a sudden warm fuzzy feeling. You'll know when you feel that, and your transformation into an animal will only confirm it."

"So, it's like how I feel when I get hugs from you?"

Tom and Sabine didn't exactly know, but they nodded anyway.

"This is so cool! Will I always feel like that when I touch my soulmate?"

"Honestly, we don't know honey, since we've never met our soulmates. But I would assume so, as that is what love often feels like."

Tom and Sabine chuckled at Marinette's overjoyed smile, and the rest of dinner continued on as Marinette's hyperactive imagination led her to envision what it would be like to become certain animals. Then the discussion moved on to what her soulmate would be like and what animal she wanted him to turn into.

"I'm going to touch everyone at school tomorrow!" she declared at the end of dinner.

Tom and Sabine shared a look. They had forgotten that as a child, she was still learning boundaries. "Oh sweetie, I know you want to find your soulmate, but you can't just go around touching everyone. People don't like that; you still have to ask for permission to touch them."

Marinette looked absolutely devastated at that. "But-!"

Tom held up a hand. "No buts, missy. It will happen when it happens. Fate has a funny way of doing that."

"That's not fair!" Marinette pouted in her seat, crossing her arms.

"We don't always get what we want right away, Marinette. Finding your soulmate will require patience."

"I don't want to wait," Marinette complained.

Sabine glanced at her husband, hoping her would help her to nip this in the bud. He indicated he would handle it, and Sabine rose to collect the dishes.

"I'll give you a cookie if you promise me you will respect your classmates' boundaries at school," he told his daughter, firmly. "That means no touching without asking permission first."

Marinette, while ecstatic about receiving a third cookie that day, remained distressed over not being able to find her soulmate faster. "Fine," she retorted, slouching in her seat even more.

"You didn't prooomise!" Tom sing-songed, switching from a serious to playful demeanor.

Marinette scowled at him, an expression Tom found hilariously cute. She couldn't fool him. "Fine! I promise!"

"Oh, I don't know if I can believe you! I think I'll have to tickle it out of you!"

Marinette gasped as her father lunged for her and hurried out of her seat.

"No!"

"I'm gonna get you!"

And that was all it took for Tom to get Marinette to smile again. He chased her around the kitchen and the living room for a bit, Sabine dodging them as she cleaned up. Marinette squealed when her father eventually captured her in his arms, unable to contain her laughter when his hands rested at her waist, threatening to tickle her.

"Papa! Papa, I promise! Don't tickle me! I promise!"

Tom chuckled, and let her go, only to have Marinette stick out her tongue at him. He childishly stuck his out at her in return.

"Do I get my cookie now?" she asked, turning her version of the puppy dog eyes onto him.

"Of course, Mari." Tom got her a cookie from a tub in one of the cupboards and gave it to her. But before she could start eating it, he bent down to teasingly give her a big sloppy wet kiss on her forehead, and she squealed again, trying to squirm away from him.

After eating her cookie, Sabine helped Marinette with the simple addition homework she had, while Tom did the dishes. After that was done, Tom played a few video games with his daughter. The night quickly came to a close, with Sabine tucking her daughter in and wishing her goodnight.

As the mother came down the steps back into the living room, a thought struck her.

"How did you come up with that soulmate metaphor?" she asked, sitting down on the couch next to her husband.

Tom looked up from his book in surprise. "It's the one my mom used when she explained soulmates to me," Tom admitted, putting down his book to tug her close and kiss her lovingly.

Sabine laughed from both his words and his affection. "It certainly has that Dupain flare to it," she joked, referencing the meaning of his family name.

"Exactly!"

They shared another kiss, thankful that even though they had not met their soulmates, they had each other, and that's what counted.


	3. Chapter 3: The Struggle is Real

CHAPTER 3: The Struggle is Real

When Natalie found Adrien fifteen minutes later, he was pouting in front of the door to his personal dressing room, his tail flicking around in agitation. He had tried to turn the doorknob with his paws upon his arrival, but to no avail.

"Adrien," she greeted, and he quickly snapped his head toward her, shocked out of his soulmate-centered thoughts.

" _Hi,_ " he tried to say, but all that came out was a meow. Natalie's mouth quirked up a little bit, and Adrien was briefly frustrated at his inability to communicate effectively. However, he could tell that Nathalie was happy for him even though she had to deal with the mess his transformation had caused. Her expression quickly returned to business professional as she tapped a short message to Gabriel on her tablet.

"Adrien, your father is currently wrapping up with the press, but sent me on ahead to make sure you were alright." She opened the door for him, and he darted into the room in true cat fashion. "Do you need anything?" He looked back at her, pausing to shake his head in a negative fashion. He felt too overwhelmed to even know what he needed right now.

Jumping up onto the loveseat that was present in the room, Adrien further contemplated his situation. Of course he was ecstatic about finding his soulmate, but he knew that whoever they were- _whoever My Lady is,_ he thought, longingly- would be under the fire of the media due to his celebrity status and _very_ _public_ transformation. He knew Nathalie and his father would handle the paparazzi well, but he couldn't help but worry about the consequences- especially the ones he couldn't predict.

But all this worrying was for nothing if he didn't actually _find_ her. He needed to touch her again to be able to transform back into a human. As much as he was sure future him would enjoy being able to turn into a cat whenever he wanted to, presently he didn't want to be stuck as one for too long. His anxiety spiked as another thought came, unbidden: what if an akuma attacked and Chat Noir was needed? He _really_ needed to find Ladybug- er, his soulmate.

But what if his soulmate wasn't Ladybug? The question only served to distress him more, even as he dismissed it. _No, it has to be Ladybug. I know my soulmate can't just be some random stranger, not with the influence of the Miraculous._ He sighed and wished he could talk to someone, even if that someone was Plagg. The kwami was likely sleeping the day away in Adrien's bag right now, completely unaware of Adrien's situation.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and laid his head on his paws, ignorant of Natalie's searching gaze on him as she stood near the door. They remained silent, entertaining their own thoughts for a few minutes before the door opened again. Gabriel stepped in with Adrien's bodyguard following close behind.

Adrien sat up in the presence of his father, examining his face. He expected to find anger, frustration, and stress. And while the frustration and stress was clearly evident, there were emotions there that Adrien wasn't expecting to see: happiness, longing, sadness… and a spark of pride? His ears perked up, preparing to hear what his father had to say.

"Adrien," was the stoic greeting he received, before Gabriel came to sit down on the loveseat next to him. "I am very pleased that you have found your soulmate. However, the timing of your transformation certainly could have been better." A sigh escaped his father, and he took off his glasses to pinch his nose. "This has now turned into a ridiculous fiasco. I hope you are prepared for many interviews when all this is over, son."

Adrien's ears lowered, betraying his fear. He hadn't even thought of himself, being so concerned about his soulmate and how to find her. He knew he would probably be able to handle the interviews when this was all over, but right now he didn't even want to think about it.

Gabriel caught Adrien's expression as he put his glasses back on and tried to encourage him. "But that will wait until later. For now, we need to focus on finding your soulmate."

He stood up again, ready for action. "Nathalie, take Adrien to the DSA. We'll likely need their help to find Adrien's soulmate. Unless you know who she is?" He turned back to look at Adrien, and after a moment Adrien shook his head, ashamed at not knowing. "Alright then. I'll remain here to tie up the loose ends of the show and will meet you at the DSA as soon as I'm finished here."

Nathalie curtly nodded. "It will be done, sir."

Gabriel made for the door, motioning for the Gorilla to stay with Nathalie and Adrien. "I will call you to bring the car when I need it," Adrien's father instructed the bodyguard. And with those final words, he strode quickly out the door, his hands clasped behind his back.

The Gorilla also left the room, nodding at Nathalie.

"Come, Adrien. The car will be brought around back."

Adrien jumped off the couch and padded over to the open door, wondering where exactly they were going. _The DSA sounds familiar…_ But then he remembered- _Plagg!_ He definitely needed to take Plagg with him. He turned around and walked to the table, where his backpack was resting. Using the table to stand on his back legs, he proceeded to paw at the bag, and meowed at Nathalie, hoping she understood.

Nathalie nodded at him and walked over to the table. "Alright, we can't forget your bag. Let's go." She shouldered the pack on the same shoulder her purse was flung over and preceded to walk out the door again. Adrien followed her close behind, knowing the way from being here many times, but lost in thought once again.

* * *

Finally coming down from her high, Marinette dizzily landed on her desk next to Tikki, who had sat back down to watch her buzz around in excitement.

"Oh, Marinette! I'm so happy for you!"

Marinette suddenly felt a rush of gratitude rise up in her; 1) she actually had a soulmate, 2) she had transformed into a vulnerable ladybug in the safety of her room instead of somewhere potentially dangerous, and 3) she had Tikki here with her- someone thousands of years old who could understand both burden of the miraculous and the way it had interfered with her finding her soulmate. She lifted off again, landing on one of Tikki's black cheek spots.

"Aww, I love you too, Marinette!" Tikki giggled, patting the ladybug gently in affection. After a minute of enjoying the moment and calming down further from their excitement, Marinette flew off the kwami's cheek and landed back onto the desk.

Tikki decided now was a good time to address the issue at hand; after all, Marinette wasn't her first chosen to find her soulmate. "So, what are you going to do now, Marinette? You need to find Ad- er, your soulmate so you can change back into a human! Any ideas on how to do that?"

Marinette, missing Tikki's slip-up, hadn't even thought that far ahead. She realized just how difficult it was to communicate in this form. How was she supposed to talk to Tikki? How was she supposed to find her soulmate if she couldn't even use body language? Could she write a note? No… she was too small to hold a pencil. Maybe she could try to type a message on her tablet? Worth a shot, even if she was small.

She flew her little ladybug body over to her tablet, which still displayed her physics homework. She tried exiting out of her homework by using her little insect legs, but nothing happened. _My legs probably aren't big enough,_ she lamented. She tried crouching her whole body onto the screen, but once again that didn't work. _Maybe Tikki can write a message for me?_

She rushed back to Tikki, landing once again on the kwami's cheek. "Did you figure out what to do, Marinette?" Marinette sped back to the tablet, but when Tikki didn't follow, she went back to land on Tikki's cheek again.

"You want me to follow?" Tikki guessed, flying after Marinette as she returned to the tablet for the third time. Marinette landed on the arrow in the corner of the screen and hopped up and down a bit to draw Tikki's attention to it. Tikki pressed it, using both her kwami limbs to make it work.

Marinette helped Tikki navigate through the tablet, bringing her to the Facebook messenger app. "So, you want me to send someone a message?" Tikki asked. Marinette responded with encouraging circles in the air, and Tikki giggled at their way of communicating. "Who would you like me to send a message to, then?"

Marinette realized that she wanted to send a message to her parents but knew they didn't check Facebook very often. It would probably be better to text them. Marinette glided over to her phone, which was also resting on the desk.

"Wait, you want me to use your phone instead?" Marinette hopped up and down to emphasize her yes.

Soon the screen displayed a bunch of text conversations. "Okay, Marinette. Which person should I send a message to?"

Before Marinette could respond, a voice called down from below.

"Marinette! Time for dinner!"

Tikki looked anxiously at Marinette, before zipping off to hide in Marinette's stuffed animals.

A few seconds passed, and when Marinette didn't vocally respond, steps were heard on the stairs. The hatch popped open, revealing Sabine.

"Marinette? Sweetie?" Sabine climbed up into the room. "Hmm, I swore she was in here not ten minutes ago. Did she fall asleep?"

Sabine promptly traversed up to Marinette's loft bed, but upon finding it empty, she decided to go back downstairs to see if Marinette was in the bakery or another part of the apartment.

Tikki quietly peaked out of the stuffed animals and hastily returned to Marinette's side.

"Marinette, what are you going to do about your parents? They need to know that ladybug you is… well, you!"

 _That's what I'm trying to do,_ Marinette thought. _I need to get their attention, so hopefully they'll get my message…_ Marinette flew back to her phone, fluttering her wings upon landing to get Tikki's attention.

"Right," Tikki remembered. "The message!" But before she could choose a contact to message, Marinette's phone started ringing. Glancing at the caller ID, both of them saw that it was Sabine.

"She's probably trying to find you," Tikki guessed. They let it ring for a little bit before the phone finally stopped buzzing. A minute later, a voicemail notification popped up on the screen. Tikki pressed it to listen.

"Hi sweetie, it's me. Dinner is ready, but you weren't up in your room when I checked. Did you go out somewhere?" A sigh was heard. "If you're with your friends, that's fine, but we need to know where you are. Call me back as soon as you get this, honey."

It was clear Sabine was about to hang up, but Tom's muffled voice was heard over the recording: "Did you check her phone's location? Maybe you could try calling Alya."

Sabine's response was just as quiet, as if she had pulled the phone away from her mouth. "That's a good idea, honey. Oh! I'm still on the phone." And with that, the recording abruptly ended.

Tikki looked over at Marinette, concerned, but promptly locked the phone and hid again when she heard people on the stairs for the second time.

"There, look," Tom said, "Her phone is right here."

"But where is Marinette?" Sabine was starting to get worried. As she picked up the phone, neither of them noticed the ladybug flying in the air trying to get their attention.

"Maybe she rushed out the door and forgot her phone."

The mother looked at her husband incredulously. Marinette forget her phone? The girl was attached to that thing.

Tom sighed and put his hands on her shoulders in comfort. "Let's just eat dinner and see if she turns up. We can't jump to conclusions yet. I'm sure she's being safe, wherever she is."

Sabine reluctantly agreed; this wasn't the first time Marinette had disappeared on them, as frustrating as it was. They headed back downstairs, taking Marinette's phone with them.

 _Well, there goes that plan,_ Marinette thought, cringing on the inside. Who else could she message? She buzzed over to her tablet again, thinking. Alya could certainly work, as Marinette was sure her best friend could tell her parents for her. And Marinette also felt comfortable sharing all of this soulmate stuff with her.

With no interruptions this time, Tikki was able to send off a Facebook message to Alya for Marinette using the tablet.

M: _I need help! I'm a ladybug and I think I've found my soulmate! Tell my parents!_

They both waited patiently for Alya's reply, Marinette flying around and Tikki watching her. After ten minutes of Alya not responding, Marinette became frustrated. _Why isn't she responding? Alya always has her phone on her and always checks her notifications!_

She didn't know what else to do. She couldn't really message any of her other friends, as she was sure only Alya had her parents' personal numbers. Sure, someone could call the business phone in the bakery since that number was on the bakery's website, but her parents were unlikely to return down there tonight after closing up shop. She could definitely Facebook message her parents with Tikki's help, but she doubted they would see the message in a timely manner since they weren't on social media often.

Tikki had no way of knowing the thoughts running through her head but guessed that Marinette would have done something different now if she could. "I guess we'll just have to wait for when Alya sees the message," Tikki concluded.

They hunkered down to wait, the kwami nibbling absent-mindedly at the last cookie on the plate.

Marinette's wings fluttered nervously. _Oh, I hope Alya sees my message soon…_

* * *

 **A/N: So many interesting tidbits in this chapter... Hehehehe!**

 **Next chapter we'll be going back to the first time Marinette and Adrien touched! *cue the rain***

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	4. Chapter 4: Interference

***cue umbrella scene music***

* * *

CHAPTER 4: Interference

The first time Marinette touched Adrien Agreste, her whole view of him flipped. Er- well, it wasn't _just_ because she had touched him; he had pretty much been an honest gentleman to her, too. Marinette sighed, lost in thought as she replayed the scene over and over again in her mind, ever since it happened two days ago.

She had been mad at him, upset that another one of Chloe's so-called _friends_ had targeted her, all because Chloe thought she was superior to everyone. Marinette felt pretty confident in herself, now that she had taken on the role of Ladybug, beaten Hawkmoth's akuma the right way this time, and subsequently told Chloe off in class afterwards by reclaiming her seat. Alya's words echoed in her mind: _All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing._ So of course, when Adrien Agreste walked up beside her on the front steps after school, she resolutely ignored him, believing him to be a stuck-up, rich, pawn of Chloe who also happened to be the son of her favorite fashion designer.

"Hey," he said, a forced cheeriness in his tone as he greeted her.

She turned away from him in spite but heard his responding sigh. For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the rain that poured from above.

He opened his umbrella, taking a few steps out into the rain before he stopped.

"I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat, I swear." Marinette appraised him, wide-eyed at his admittance. He glanced back at her before continuing in a softer voice.

"I've never been to school before. I've never had friends." He shrugged. "It's all sort of… new to me." When he glanced back at her again, it was with a little half-smile on his face as he once again shrugged. He turned completely around and locked eyes with her as he offered his umbrella.

 _He's actually being… genuine,_ she thought as he started to get soaked in the rain, looking earnestly at her. She was astonished at how quickly her anger from before disappeared, and made a sound of surprise as she realized she should take the umbrella from him, if only to accept his apology.

When her index finger touched his, it was like a jolt went through her, not unlike the thunder that had recently sounded from above. Bewildered, she paused for a second, only to reach for the umbrella again as Adrien simultaneously moved to give it to her. Their hands brushed once again in the exchange, and another surge of warmth passed through her body.

She stood there in amazement trying to process everything, when the umbrella suddenly closed on her. Adrien's sweet laughter echoed in the rain as she peeked out from under the umbrella. The situation caught up to her and she couldn't help but laugh also.

They both calmed down after a moment, and a feeling of _rightness_ came over them, a peaceful feeling now that the misunderstanding between them was fixed.

"See you tomorrow," he said, turning around to walk towards the car that was waiting for him.

Marinette felt a bit weak at the knees as she watched him saunter off. _What just happened?_ She dropped her backpack and lifted up a hand to wave at him.

"Uh-huh! See you to-mor… tomor… haha… Woah! Why am I stammering?" She glanced down at her body in confusion.

And then Tikki had flown out to tease her, and two days later she still couldn't deny that at that moment, she had developed a serious crush on Adrien Agreste.

"Daydreaming about Adrien again?"

Marinette jolted, her head returning from the clouds as she turned to look at her kwami. Tikki had a smug smile on her face, highly aware of her holder's love-struck smile and the forgotten sketchbook on her lap.

Marinette blushed. "Tikki!" This wasn't the first time the kwami had teased her about her crush, but she couldn't help it! He had been so kind, so gentleman-like, so genuine… and so, so handsome! She wasn't blind, you know!

Her mind kept going back to that moment she had touched him. The spark- jolt- flash- warmth- _whatever_ she had felt- was extremely different yet _exactly_ what she had imagined feeling when she touched her soulmate. It was like what she had read about, what all the research on soulmates said she was _supposed_ to feel the moment they first touched. She could admit to herself that her crush on Adrien stemmed partially from the fact that for the past 48 hours, she had been hoping that she had found her soulmate. She was in denial over the fact that he probably wasn't, since neither of them had changed into animals yet. She didn't want to entertain the idea that she might've imagined that warmth.

"Marinette," Tikki scolded, with a mother-like tone that Marinette was quickly getting used to. "It's great that you have a crush on Adrien, but you should really stop daydreaming and finish up your homework."

Marinette knew Tikki was right but couldn't help but feel she was justified in her behavior. After all, it's not like Tikki- or even Alya for that matter- knew that she had been considering the possibility of Adrien being her soulmate. Both of her new friends were aware of her crush, but they didn't necessarily know all the reasons behind her sudden infatuation with the boy.

"I can't help it, Tikki," she sighed, deciding to come clean. "I think Adrien might be my soulmate."

"What?" Tikki dropped a few centimeters in the air at Marinette's statement. "Why do you think that, Marinette?"

"Well, we touched when he gave me his umbrella," she confided, glancing at said object leaning against the side of her desk. "It felt like… this jolt just went through me. I felt really warm, all of a sudden, I guess. Isn't that what I'm supposed to feel?"

She was reassured at Tikki's wide-eyed nod, but still decided to voice her concerns. "But if Adrien and I are soulmates, why haven't we changed yet?" Voicing the question only made her doubt grow stronger. "Oh, Tikki, maybe I completely imagined it…" She brought her hands up to her blushing cheeks, embarrassed, but determined to receive her kwami's advice. She had bottled these thoughts up for far too long.

"Oh, Marinette…" Tikki looked at her with a sad expression and floated up to touch one of Marinette's hands that was still on her cheek. "I don't think you imagined it. You and Adrien could very well be soulmates."

"Really?"

Tikki floated away from her cheek to look her more directly in the eye. "Really."

Marinette briefly smiled at that but remained confused. "Then why haven't I transformed? It's supposed to happen within 24 hours!"

Tikki sighed and turned away from Marinette's searching gaze. "I was hoping I would have more time," the kwami murmured, remorsefully.

"Tikki?" Marinette anxiously reached out to the floating bug. "What's wrong?"

Tikki turned back to the girl, antennas drooping, and landed in Marinette's outstretched hand. "I'm sorry, Marinette," she squeaked, her voice going higher. "The reason you and Adrien haven't transformed yet, if you are soulmates, is because of the miraculous."

"What? Tikki, what do you mean?"

"The miraculous is magic, right?" Marinette nodded at Tikki's question and fingered an earring. "And magic is also what transforms people into animals when they touch their soulmates." Marinette affirmed her again. "Well, the miraculous magic is interfering with the soulmate magic. It's a consequence of you becoming Ladybug."

"A consequence-" Marinette's voice cracked. "Does that mean I can never find my soulmate?"

Tikki could see the growing dejection on Marinette's face, and hurried to answer. "No, no! Of course not! It just means that your chances of finding your soulmate are less than normal. The soulmate magic has to be strong enough to overcome the miraculous magic in order for you to change."

Marinette wrung her hands in her lap, unsure how to feel at this new information. "And how does that happen?"

"Well, the soulmate magic is first activated when you touch, right? All you have to do is touch your soulmate multiple times and the magic will grow stronger! Eventually it will be enough to overcome the miraculous magic, and you'll transform into a ladybug!"

"That's reassuring, I guess…" Marinette was lost in thought when Tikki's last words hit her. "Wait, a ladybug? I'm going to change into a ladybug?"

"Of course!" Tikki affirmed, excited to share this specific knowledge with the girl. "As a holder of the ladybug miraculous, it only makes sense for your soul animal to be a ladybug. That's part of the reason you were chosen, after all. The magic of the miraculous is stronger when paired with a holder who has the same soul animal."

"Wait, wait just a moment! I thought I was chosen because I had the character of a hero! That's what you told me! And- and why are you telling all of this to me now?" Marinette could feel her anger catching up to her, frustrated that the kwami didn't tell her all of this on day one.

"Marinette," Tikki said calmly, sensing Marinette's growing agitation. "You were chosen for both reasons, because of who you are and because your soul is a ladybug. They're connected, after all! And I'm telling you all of this now because you need to know. If Adrien is really your soulmate, then all you have to do is touch him a few more times!" She tried to be encouraging. "I've had past Ladybugs that faced the same problem as you, but they eventually found their soulmates! You just have to be a bit patient!"

Marinette could tell that Tikki was desperate for the girl to believe her. She loved the kwami, even after only being together for a few days, and it was reassuring to know that she was chosen to be Ladybug for a reason and that she could still find her soulmate. However, she couldn't help but voice her irritation to the bug. "Tikki, I'm going to need a little bit to think about all of this."

"Of course," the kwami agreed, cautious of saying more. Marinette stood up from the chaise, needing to get away for a bit. "I am sorry, Marinette."

"I know," was Marinette's quick reply, her frustration at the situation making her voice sound strangled. "It's not your fault, just a consequence of the miraculous, right? Even if I wasn't Ladybug, I still might never find my soulmate. I could be perfectly happy with someone who isn't my soulmate, like my parents are. Who needs soulmates, right?" The tears started to form in her eyes as she rambled on. Trying to hide her growing heartache, she hurried to the trapdoor to her room. "Do you want a cookie? I'm going to go get some!"

Marinette swiftly disappeared down the stairs, and Tikki stared after her in sadness. "Oh, Marinette… I really am sorry. But everything will be alright in the end."

* * *

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	5. Chapter 5: Newsflash

CHAPTER 5: Newsflash

The next day at school, their history teacher assigned them their first partner assignment: do a presentation on a controversial topic currently being talked about in the news. It was supposed to be a fairly easy assignment, being the first week of school. Alya and Marinette jumped at the opportunity to work together, being new friends and all.

"Oooooh!" Alya squealed, "What if we did it on Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

Marinette cringed on the inside, hesitating with her response. "I don't know, Alya. Are Ladybug and Chat Noir really that controversial?"

"Of course they are, girl!" Alya waved her arms around in excitement, her phone in one of her hands. "There are probably people out there right now who doubt that they're really superheroes, which they are, of course. We could do a presentation on that. Or, what is the government going to do now that we have superheroes guarding our backs? Are they going to allow Ladybug and Chat Noir to operate outside of the law? Will our heroes only be dealing with Hawkmoth and the monsters he can make, or will they fight normal crime as well? There are so many issues to think about!"

"Oh," was all Marinette could reply with. She hadn't even thought about those things herself. Would the government try to control her and Chat Noir? Did she have time to also help out beyond defeating the akumas?

She pushed away her doubt-filled thoughts, trying to get back to the topic at hand. "Okay Alya, I agree that Ladybug and Chat Noir are controversial. But everyone's going to be doing a presentation on them! Can we do something else?" Her voice became a little bit pleading at the end. Alya turned a scrutinizing eye on her before frowning, unsure as to what Marinette had against the superheroes.

"I guess we can look into a few more options," she acquiesced, deflating a bit.

"Thanks." Marinette smiled at Alya, and suggested they look at some of the recent news articles to explore their choices.

They spent the rest of class time searching for a suitable topic, each showing the other when they found an article they liked and deliberating the pros and cons of a presentation on that topic. Each one was put aside as they each gave excuses: "I don't like that topic," "There's too many different sides to go over," "It's not controversial enough."

Near the end of the period, Alya had excitedly showed her an article she read. "What if we did our presentation on soulmates?" she asked her friend, her expression animated.

Marinette frowned, remembering her talk with Tikki the day before. "Uh, I guess-"

"Here! Watch this video with me!" Alya tapped on her tablet, turning it so the video became fullscreen.

"Hello, Nadja Chamack here! Don't be bemused, it's just the news! Today, we received new information from the Department of Soulmate Affairs of France. Sadly, it's been reported that in the last year, the soulmate matching rate has decreased, and pretty dramatically, too. What are the numbers, Pierre?" Nadja looked over to her coworker sitting at the desk alongside her as she passed the conversation to him.

"The report says that in the past year, only 12.7% of the people in France have found their soulmates. This is a dramatic drop from the 13.1% we saw from last year's report. That's a difference of 270,000 people not being matched with their soulmate this past year. What changed, Nadja?"

The woman folded her hands seriously in front of her. "While there has been a decreasing trend for the last few years, DSA scientists say they've never seen a drop like this in France before. Other countries like the United States have also seen staggering drops recently, spurring researchers worldwide to look deeper into what could be influencing the numbers so much."

A graphic popped up on the screen as Nadja continued in a voice over. "There are multiple factors that can influence the soulmate matching rate. Some of these factors include changes in the world's population, technology, and social and cultural changes. Care to go over these in more depth, Pierre?"

"Of course, Nadja!" The screen flashed back to the reporters. "In terms of the world's population, the amount of people in our world has only grown larger, increasing from 1 billion to 7.5 billion in the last 200 years alone." Another graphic showing the exponential growth of the world's population flashed on screen. "A growing population means that as the amount of people increases, the probability for two soulmates to meet decreases. Scientists speculate that the soulmate matching rate could have been as high as 20% in the past due to how Earth's growing population has influenced the matching rate."

"However," Nadja cautioned, as the screen switched back to them again, "technology also has a big role in soulmate matching. With the invention of cars and planes, it has certainly made it easier to meet more people and travel to different countries. The kind of travel opportunities we have today pale in comparison to how people traveled in the past; certainly this is a factor that would raise the number of people who find their soulmates?"

"Possibly, but it could be argued though that technology has contributed more to decreasing the matching rate," Pierre debated. "Technological advancements are mainly responsible for causing the dramatic increase in our global population, after all. Recent research has even shown that with our increasing access to phones and the internet, face-to-face contact between people has dramatically decreased. Culturally, the newest generation now favors having conversations over texting or video-chatting apps, decreasing the time that they spend around other people, henceforth decreasing the possibility of touching their soulmate."

"Very true, Pierre. With so many aspects of technology and human culture impacting the way we socialize, it's certainly a wonder that scientists can even guess at what exactly is influencing the soulmate matching rate." Nadja stared into the camera to address the audience. "Viewers at home, what do you think? What do you feel is the biggest factor influencing the soulmate matching rate? Please feel free to comment your thoughts on our online forum."

"The DSA's report has more than just the newest numbers, Nadja. It seems that the government has also decided to finally start holding its own Soulmate Conference each month. These conferences have been going on for decades, sponsored by different soulmate-related non-profits. The main point at these conferences is to meet as many people as possible to up one's chances at finding their soulmate."

"But the question is, do these conferences actually help people find their soulmates? The Department of Soulmate Affairs certainly hopes so, as they believe these conferences will help to raise that disheartening 12.7% to a more agreeable number."

"We're hopeful too, aren't we Nadja? But in the meantime, we will all continue to ask the question: is looking for your soulmate really worth it? This is Pierre Legrand and Nadja Chamack signing off. Back to you, Robert."

The video ended, and Alya let the tablet rest on the desk. "Well, I think that's certainly controversial enough," she turned to Marinette, assessing her expression.

" _Is looking for your soulmate really worth it?_ " Marinette's mind repeated, her heart constricting in sorrow as she was reminded that her chances were even less than 12.7%.

"Marinette?" A hand reached out to touch her shoulder, shocking Marinette out of her thoughts. "What do you think?"

Before Marinette could answer, the bell rang. She cringed; part of her didn't want to do their presentation on soulmates because it reminded her of what Tikki had told her, but she also didn't want to spend even more time trying to find a topic. They had spent the last 20 minutes doing that already and now it was lunchtime. At least she had dissuaded Alya from doing their presentation on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Uh, yeah!" Marinette yelped, an exaggerated grin on her face as she finally responded to Alya. "We can totally do our presentation on soulmates. D-definitely."

Alya raised an eyebrow at her but turned away to start packing her things away. "It's alright if you don't want to, girl. We can keep exploring our options."

"No, no! It's fine!" Marinette waved her hands in a placating gesture. "I think there is definitely a lot of controversy surrounding soulmates, and I don't really want to spend more time looking for a topic. It's a good topic."

"Great!" Alya smiled and stood up, shouldering her backpack. "When do you want to work on the project?"

Marinette thought about her schedule. She was free today and wanted to get it done earlier rather than later due to the possibility of Hawkmoth interrupting their work. "I'm good with after school if you are," she replied.

"Sounds good to me!" The girls companionably walked out of the classroom together towards the front doors of the school and headed for Marinette's place, the girl having invited Alya over the day before.

"Hey, Marinette, have you found your soulmate yet?" Alya inquired, glancing over at her friend.

Marinette felt a pang in her heart as her mind responded with " _maybe_." But instead of expressing that to her new friend, she merely raised an eyebrow and smirked to answer Alya's question.

"Oh, right," Alya muttered. Of course Marinette didn't know yet; if she did then she would already have a boy in her life and she wouldn't be fawning over _Adrien._

Marinette giggled at her response as they walked out the front doors of the school. "And I'm assuming you don't have someone special in your life right now either?" Marinette asked, one eyebrow quirked.

"Nope. No soulmate for me," Alya sighed, but then grinned brightly at Marinette. "Not yet, anyway. I'm not going to let that 12.7% stop me!"

Alya continued to ramble on as they crossed the street to the bakery, and Marinette felt a bit more hopeful. _I guess I shouldn't let that 12.7%- or whatever number it is for miraculous holders- stop me either. I'm lady luck; I've got luck on my side no matter what!_

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the reviews!~**

 **I'd like to hear more about what you guys think of this AU so far. People have told me they like it, which I'm glad about, but I guess I was hoping for more feedback. Are there any questions you guys have regarding the story?**

 **On another note, as I expected, I'm not sure I can keep up in posting a chapter once a week. Updates will likely be slower so I can keep up my buffer of chapters. It also doesn't help that work has been making me too exhausted to write, ugh. Overall, I want this story to be about quality over quantity/fast updates, so I'm not going to post stuff until I'm absolutely satisfied with it. Thanks in advance for bearing with me and understanding! Love you all~**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	6. Chapter 6: Four Touches

CHAPTER 6: Four Touches

The second time Adrien touched Marinette Dupain-Cheng, he knew for sure that something was up.

He hadn't been sure what to make of his first physical interaction with Marinette. He was relieved that the miscommunication between them regarding the chewing gum was resolved, but was unsure about how he felt when they had first touched. His mind kept replaying the moment over and over again, analyzing his experience.

He vividly remembered the shock of warmth that had spread through his body; it was similar to the fond emotion one felt in their chest when they received a _really_ good hug, but ten times as powerful. Adrien realized he hadn't experienced _real_ love in an achingly long time, ever since his mom had disappeared. For him to feel something similar from just touching Marinette, someone he had only known for a day when it happened- well, he was happy, but extremely confused. Wasn't he supposed to feel that way when he touched his soulmate?

And so, he had decided to test it out again, but the weeks went by as he tried to figure out how to touch her once more without being weird about it. He wasn't even sure why he was so adamant about touching her again; they couldn't be soulmates because neither of them had transformed into animals. But nevertheless, his need persisted, even though it was hard to interact with her now that she stuttered whenever he was around. _Why is she only like that with me?_

About a month into the school year, his dad decided to hold a small hat-designing competition for his classmates, for reasons unknown to him. He had stood in awe as Marinette defended her hat's design to his father- _his father of all people!_ \- and he was elated when she had won.

"Congratulations on your demonstration, Miss Marinette. You're the winner."

Marinette turned to Alya, a giddy smile on her face. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She bowed to his father, whose stoic expression persisted onscreen.

Adrien managed to catch her eye and wink at her as his father continued, his tone detached. "Adrien will wear your derby on our next advertising campaign."

Adrien eyed the hat, and it occurred to him that this was the perfect opportunity to touch her again. He reached out and cupped his hands around hers, acting as if he was merely grabbing for the hat. This time, the spark of warmth that passed through him was even stronger, and he couldn't help his widening smile.

"Awesome job, Marinette," he told her, sincerely. A flicker of pleasure went through him when he saw her responding blush. He took the hat from her hands before it became awkward, internally mourning the loss of contact with her. Who knew that one touch from a girl could make him feel so… so loved. _Would I feel the same if it were Ladybug?_ He briefly wondered.

The competition had ended a few hours ago, and now he was at home, chilling in his room. Nathalie had canceled his piano practice after it became apparent that all his sneezing from Marinette's hat (and the pigeon akuma from earlier) was preventing him from doing anything productive. He had taken some allergy medication and rested in bed per her orders, not that he was sorry to be able to relax and let his thoughts wander.

He just… didn't understand. How was it that he felt this way when he touched Marinette? It was similar to when he thought about Ladybug, where his heart sped up a bit and the butterflies came on full force, but instead there was more warmth than butterflies, and more of a content, joyful feeling than the anxiety that came with his crush on Ladybug. It felt… _right._

"Plagg," Adrien called for his kwami, sure that the magical creature would have some answers, "what do you know about soulmates?"

Plagg popped up from his trashcan and looked at his holder curiously. "Why do you ask?"

Adrien scowled at his kwami. Of course, Plagg wouldn't make it easy for him. In the last few weeks, he had gotten to know even more just how sarcastic and lazy the cat kwami was.

"Because you're a magical creature who probably knows a lot more than I do?" Adrien deadpanned. His voice then turned pleading. "C'mon Plagg, help me out here."

"Well, I do know that when you do find your soulmate, you'll turn into a black cat," Plagg said, coming to hover casually in the space between the garbage can and Adrien's bed.

Surprise flashed across Adrien's face. "What? My soul animal is a black cat? Really?"

Plagg peaked open an eye and gave his holder a look. Adrien got the message: _Yeah, duh._

"Okay," Adrien mused, thinking that there were worse things to be than a cat. He could live with being a cat; after all, he was a cat-themed superhero. "Do you know who my soulmate is?"

"Nope!" came the kwami's too-cheerful reply. Adrien immediately sulked at that, and Plagg decided he had probably messed with the kid enough. They needed to talk about soulmates at some point; might as well get it over with quickly. "Alright kid, I'll bite. Why are you asking?"

Adrien sighed again, contemplating how to bring up his thoughts to the kwami. He still remembered how the kwami had teased him all those weeks ago: _"The first day of school and we already got two lovebirds!"_ The kwami would undoubtedly tease him again for having both Marinette and Ladybug in his thoughts, regarding soulmates no less.

"It's… about Marinette," he admitted.

"Aww, Lovebird #2?" Plagg taunted. "The girl who is always a stuttering mess around you?"

"Yes, Plagg," Adrien groaned, already partly regretting this conversation. But he needed answers! That is, if Plagg even had them…

"What about her?"

"Well, when I touched her-"

"Oh," Plagg interrupted his holder, a frown coming to his face. "Let me guess, you felt some kind of spark when you touched her?"

Adrien sat up. "Yes! It's happened twice now. Once, when I gave her my umbrella, and the second time was today when I took her hat from her." He gave his kwami a worried look, fiddling with his blanket anxiously. "Doesn't that mean she's supposed to be my soulmate? And if she is, why haven't we changed yet?"

Plagg's ears drooped a little as he examined his holder. How he wished he didn't have to be the bearer of bad news, god of destruction or not. "Adrien, I hate to break it to ya, but not many Chat Noirs find their soulmates."

Adrien gave the cat a searching expression and frowned. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Alright! I'm getting there," Plagg scoffed, wanting to get this over quickly. "The reason you felt the spark with this Marinette girl is because she's probably your soulmate. You haven't changed because the miraculous interferes with the soulmate magic that changes you into a cat. There, happy now? Can I have some cheese, please?"

"No, you can't have some cheese!" Adrien couldn't believe his kwami, asking for cheese when he needed answers! "What do you mean the miraculous interferes?"

Plagg further sagged in the air, if that was possible, then flew over to touch the miraculous ring on Adrien's right hand. "See this ring?" he asked. Adrien nodded, waiting for Plagg's explanation. "Well, when you do turn into a cat, it'll transform with you, along with anything else on you. But the ring doesn't like to do that, so it resists the soulmate magic that would usually transform you when you first touch your soulmate."

Adrien contemplated this for about two seconds before a horrible thought came to his mind. "Does that mean I'll never know who my soulmate is? That I'll never change?"

Plagg sighed, and floated closer to Adrien's face. "I never said that. The miraculous interferes, but only to a certain extent. When the soulmate magic gets strong enough, the miraculous can't resist any longer, and you'll transform. Simple as that."

Plagg tried to be patient as his holder thought about the information he received. "How does the soulmate magic get stronger?" was Adrien's next question. Plagg resigned himself to answering this one and the next few before he got his cheese.

"You just have to touch the girl a few more times. But you also have to touch her as both Chat Noir and yourself." At Adrien's questioning expression, the kwami merely shrugged. "I don't know, kid. For some reason, that's a requirement."

"So, what if Ladybug was my soulmate? Would her miraculous also interfere?"

 _Aaannnd back to Lovebird #1,_ Plagg thought, annoyed. At least Adrien seemed to be taking all this rather well. Some of his past holders had gotten really angry, not talking to him for days and withholding his glorious, beautiful cheese. He supposed he could handle the questions.

"I'm not sure," the cat admitted, "That's never happened before." He decided to humor his human, though. "My guess would be that if Ladybug was your soulmate, you would have to touch her in four different ways. Chat Noir and Ladybug, Adrien and Ladybug, and both Chat Noir and Adrien with who she is under the mask."

"Oh," Adrien whispered, looking a little crushed. Touching Ladybug in all those ways would be difficult; the suits definitely got in the way and he didn't even know who she was under the mask.

"Sorry, kid," Plagg drawled, trying to comfort his holder with a pat on the cheek. "I told you to not get your hopes up."

"You're basically telling me it's impossible to know if Ladybug is my soulmate," Adrien accused, some anger finally manifesting.

"Why so much focus on Ladybug?" Plagg inquired, happy to play devil's advocate and avoid Adrien's accusations. "You said you felt the spark with Marinette, right?"

"Yeah…" Adrien murmured, his irritation briefly forgotten as a smile grew on his face again. "Marinette's amazing. You should have seen the way she defended herself today to my father!" He paused for a bit, analyzing the way he felt. "I guess I could see myself with her if there wasn't Ladybug…" He smiled ruefully at his kwami, trying to stay positive. "We'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

"Yep. Now, I've answered your questions, and I'm exhausted. Cheese!" Plagg demanded.

"Fine." Adrien rolled his eyes at Plagg's impatience and stood up from his bed. "Just don't get crumbs on my bed this time."

* * *

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	7. Chapter 7: The Dept of Soulmate Affairs

**A/N: And we're back to Adrien in his cat form! :3**

* * *

CHAPTER 7: The Department of Soulmate Affairs

After walking through the venue halls and going out a back-exit door, Adrien and Nathalie met up with Adrien's bodyguard, who was watching them intensely from the idling car. Nathalie opened the backseat door for Adrien, and he hopped in, trying to figure out how to get situated with his new cat body.

Nathalie set down his bag on the seat next to him and paused before closing the door. "I suppose I can't force you to wear a seatbelt, can I?" Her resigned tone let him know that she already suspected his answer. He merely nodded, and she closed the door before walking around the car to the front passenger seat.

The car started moving, and Adrien curled up on the seat. His head rested on his paws as he once again became lost in thought over his situation. Not being able to talk and verbally process everything that was going on left his mind to mercilessly indulge in circles- endlessly going back and forth between worrying about the paparazzi, ecstatically rejoicing that he had finally found his soulmate, analyzing everyone he had touched in the last 24 hours, and desperately hoping Ladybug- or even Marinette for that matter- was his soulmate. Oh, _why_ did the miraculous have to interfere? It just made the situation ten times more confusing…

Adrien was so inwardly focused that he almost didn't hear the snickering coming from the seat next to him. He turned, only to see the mischievous, glowing green eyes of his kwami as the smaller cat peaked out of Adrien's bag.

"Got yourself in a bit of a pickle there, eh kid?" Plagg teased, the smirk evident in his voice. At Adrien's glare, he cackled and continued to do so until Adrien hissed at him in retaliation.

Unfortunately, Nathalie heard the sound, and glanced at him over her shoulder. "Adrien, are you alright?"

Startled, he nodded wide-eyed at her, laying his head down on his paws again and closing his eyes until he heard her turn away. He quietly resumed his glare at Plagg, baring his fangs. _You're risking my secret identity!_

The kwami's shit-eating grin was only growing larger each second. "Don't blame me for Glasses over there. I'm talking quietly enough that only you can hear. Your hissing drew her attention, not me."

Adrien almost growled in irritation but held himself back. Briefly, he realized that Plagg was right, as the soft music in the car masked the kwami's words from Nathalie and the Gorilla but not from Adrien, who was now blessed with cat hearing.

He sighed and twisted away from Plagg, deciding to ignore the teasing. The kwami rolled his eyes at his holder. "Hey, loosen up. I know that face; stop being such a worrywart. This is exciting; you've found your soulmate! It's almost as great as my precious camembert!"

 _Way to be encouraging, Plagg_ , Adrien thought sarcastically, whiskers twitching as he turned to try and express that to the other cat.

"Kid, I promise everything is going to be fine," Plagg said, more serious than he had been before. But a smug grin quickly returned to his face. "Although, I still can't believe you haven't figured it out yet." At Adrien's resulting glare, he cackled once more.

Silence reigned between the two for a minute or so, and Adrien was slipping back into his thoughts when he heard Plagg muttering something.

"I was wondering why I felt so weird." Plagg was looking at him strangely, so Adrien tilted his head in questioning.

"The Miraculous. It's gone. Inside your transformation." He gestured at Adrien. "And it's making me feel weird because my connection to it feels… dimmer. I don't know how to describe it." He paused and gave a big cat yawn, trying to appear nonchalant- but Adrien knew better. "I'll definitely have to get used to it again since you're only the fifth Cat Noir who has found their soulmate… I think."

Adrien's eyes widened at that news. _So Plagg really was telling the truth when he said not many Chat Noirs find their soulmates…_ He couldn't help but feel even more grateful that he had actually found his if those were the odds. Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm his racing mind, he decided to try and take Plagg's previous words to heart: _Everything is going to be fine._

The car ride dragged on, the quiet only broken by Plagg's rummaging in Adrien's bag as he looked for more cheese. Half paying attention, Adrien caught his kwami muttering something along the lines of "You need to transform back soon so you can get me more cheese." Adrien simply shook his head in fondness, glad that Plagg was one of the constants in his life.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into a parking lot situated in front of a large building. Adrien's ears perked to attention as his bodyguard opened the door for him, Nathalie grabbing his bag from the other side of the car. Adrien leapt out easily, eager to see where they were.

At first glance, the building was unassuming; it could have been an office building, a research facility, or a government-operated public service center of some kind. As Adrien saw the name of the building spelled out on a sign in the front lawn, he remembered that this place was actually a combination of all three. _The Department of Soulmate Affairs._

As they walked inside, an almost empty waiting room welcomed them. As Adrien looked around, his cat curiosity getting the better of him, Nathalie strode up to the front desk with a no-nonsense attitude.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the desk clerk asked, not looking up from her computer.

Nathalie paused, trying to compose what she wanted to say. "We have a person with us who has found their soulmate."

"Okay," the clerk said, clicking her computer mouse a few times. "Name?"

"Adrien Agreste."

The secretary finally looked up at Nathalie, surprise and recognition at the name clear on her face. Her gaze quickly went to Adrien, who was still in the middle of the room looking around.

"I see." The clerk quickly got over her surprise, typing fast on her keyboard. "Middle name? Date of birth?" Nathalie gave her the necessary information. "Soul animal is-" the clerk glanced up again to look at Adrien, "a black, domestic short-haired cat?" Nathalie just nodded, as it was obvious. "We will eventually need to see some I.D. from Mr. Agreste to confirm his identity, as well as from his father, since he is a minor," the secretary informed. "But that can wait until he reverts back into himself. For now, feel free to sit down. Someone will be with you shortly."

Nathalie turned and sat down next to the Gorilla, near to where Adrien was sitting on the floor. She pulled out her phone to update Gabriel, while Adrien's bodyguard sat stoically, watching the door for the paparazzi and other potentially dangerous people. Adrien jumped up into the seat next to Nathalie, resigning himself to wait for a few minutes. A nervous anticipation welled up in him, causing his tail to jerk back and forth at varying speeds.

Soon enough, a 40-ish year old man in a lab coat came into the lobby from a branching off hallway, looking down at a tablet. "Adrien Agreste?" He glanced up to look at the cat, and Adrien acknowledged him with a nod of the head.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Jules Marieur. Would you follow me, please?" Adrien and Nathalie walked after him, leaving the Gorilla behind in the lobby. As they strolled down the hallway, the man asked Nathalie to clarify her relationship to Adrien, and she explained her role as Gabriel's assistant.

When they got to the room, it looked vaguely like a doctor's office or a veterinary clinic. There was a padded table in the middle, two chairs against a wall, a desk with a computer, and a large keyboard resting on the end of the examination table.

The doctor pulled out a step stool from under the examination table and asked Adrien to jump up. Nathalie sat in one of the chairs and the doctor sat in his own, clicking at a few things on his computer.

"This room is… interesting," Nathalie commented, intrigued and a bit wary at the unique room.

The man spun his chair towards both her and Adrien. "Yes, it's designed to help people whose soul animal is a small mammal of some kind. I work here mostly as a veterinarian, hence this room." He gestured around. "However, I also work to help people find their soulmates, which directly contributes to the statistical research we do here at the DSA." The doctor then directly addressed Adrien, a friendly and reassuring smile on his face. "Are you feeling alright today, Mr. Agreste?"

Adrien nodded, unsure as to what the doctor was asking. Physically he felt fine; mentally and emotionally he was a bit exhausted, but relatively good considering his situation.

"Okay, so no need for a physical examination today?"

Adrien jolted in alarm. "Oh no, that's definitely not necessary!" Nathalie clarified, a bit shocked as well.

The doctor chuckled heartily. "Sorry, I'm just messing with you a bit! We sometimes need to do physical examinations, but I can see there's no need for that tonight. You aren't injured in any way, correct?" Adrien shook his head. "Well then, don't worry! Here at the DSA we recognize and understand that your soul animal is a private matter, not just because it connects you to your soulmate, but also because your soul animal is a reflection of who you are. I won't be invading your space tonight, Mr. Agreste."

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt a bit anxious. He was here to find his soulmate, not get a doctor's checkup as a cat!

The educated man continued. "So, the way this is going to go is I will ask you a few preliminary questions and you can gesture, meow; answer in a way that is clear and precise so we can understand you. The keyboard is here if you want to type something out for us to read. After the questions, we'll go down the hall to get your picture taken so we can get all the logistics out of the way. Then we'll move forward with helping you find your soulmate. Sound good?"

Adrien nodded, and the doctor turned to his computer once again. "So, the first thing we have to go through- sorry it's mandatory- is to confirm you are indeed a human inside that cat body. Can you lift your right front paw for me?"

Adrien did so and followed a few other commands the doctor asked him to do, including typing "my name is Adrien Agreste" on the altered keyboard, the large letters easy to hit with his cat paws. After that was over with, the doctor moved on to some soulmate-centered questions.

"First, the big question: Do you know who your soulmate is?" The doctor asked, not unkindly.

Adrien hesitantly shook his head no and looked worriedly at his paws.

"Hey, nothing to be ashamed of!" the man exclaimed, trying to be encouraging. "Not everyone immediately knows, especially if the touch is brief. Is there anyone you suspect could be it? Did you feel a jolt or a surge of warmth with any specific person?"

 _Ladybug,_ Adrien thought, but realized he couldn't give that information to the doctor because it would risk their superhero identities. The only other person he had ever felt a spark with was Marinette. He slowly typed her name into the keyboard.

"Marinette? And who is she?"

"She is one of his classmates," Nathalie answered. "Adrien, I'm fairly certain you've touched her before, a lot earlier in the school year. I don't think she could be your soulmate."

Adrien's ears folded down in discouragement, and he shrugged in response to Nathalie, glancing up at the doctor.

"Any others?" Adrien shook his head sadly. The man turned to Nathalie. "Would you be able to provide me with a list of the people that Adrien is around on a daily basis, including the people he has been around in the last 24 hours? His soulmate is most likely to be one of those people."

Nathalie got out her tablet and started to list off the people in Adrien's class; Adrien shook his head at a few people, knowing he had touched them already and hadn't felt anything from it. She then listed the models and designers at the show that night, and the doctor entered the information into his computer.

"That is probably the extent of the people Adrien has been around in the last 24 hours," Nathalie said, flipping through Adrien's schedule. "Although only Adrien would know if he touched anyone in particular, or if I'm missing anyone." They both looked at Adrien, and he shrugged.

"What time did Adrien transform?" The man asked, moving to the next question on his document.

Nathalie thought for a moment. The runway show had started at 6pm, and there had been at least fifteen models that had walked before Adrien. "I would say around 6:15 to 6:30 tonight," Nathalie figured. Adrien nodded, also doing the math in his head.

"Alright," the man acknowledged, typing the time into his computer. "We'll see if that time lines up with any of the other people who are currently here and don't have a match yet. We'll also be monitoring the people who check in after Adrien to see if their info fits with his."

There was a pause as the doctor entered in a few more items into his computer, appearing to finish up. "Well, that's all done! Ready to get that picture out of the way?"

Adrien nodded, and followed the doctor back into the hallway, Nathalie trailing behind.

* * *

 **A/N: Gotta love governments and all their red tape. Also, there's a secret meaning to the doctor's name! Anyone care to make a guess? *grins ecstatically***


	8. Chapter 8: Leaving It Up to Fate

CHAPTER 8: Leaving It Up to Fate

Plagg words continued to haunt Adrien, weeks after their initial conversation about soulmates. It was highly possible that Marinette was _the one_ , but he had to touch her as Chat Noir to know for sure. Just how was he supposed to do that? He once again asked Plagg for advice.

"Kid, you got to leave it up to fate. You can't force it."

So with a kwami pat on the cheek and a sigh, Adrien had resigned himself to simply not knowing, at least not anytime soon. The days slowly went by as he busied himself with his extracurriculars, hanging out with Nino, and his duties as Chat Noir. But despite the daily distractions, it was hard not to try and seek her out- even as Adrien. Marinette intrigued him, as he saw glimpses of her growing confidence and leadership interspersed throughout her stuttering interactions with him. He couldn't help but want to touch her again, if only to feel that powerful warmth flow through him.

But over time, a small grain of guilt had slowly made its way into his heart; he was still infatuated with Ladybug, but a part of him was pursuing Marinette because they _could_ be soulmates. In fact, Plagg had said they were _probably_ soulmates. He couldn't help but try to think of ways to touch Marinette as Chat Noir without it seeming weird, if only to know for sure. He hated being suddenly torn between the two girls, especially as he continued to get closer to Ladybug. While he and Ladybug didn't see each other too much outside of akuma attacks, he trusted her enough to reveal his identity to her- a subject he had brought up only just last week after they fought Lady Wifi. There was a deep-seated desire within him to _truly_ know the girl behind the mask, no matter the danger- supposed or real. But for now, he knew he needed to respect his partner's boundaries.

Currently, he was in the school library- totally distracted by his thoughts, but trying to be productive nonetheless. His physics class had a new project and the teacher had allowed the students to go to the library to work and research for the period. Alya and Nino were his partners for the project; as a group they had decided to each find a few potential topics to do their project on before regrouping and deciding what to do together. At the moment, he was trying to search for a particular book he had found on the web-catalogue that described some of the more famous physics experiments.

"Ahh! My hair!" Startled by Chloe's shriek, he looked around the bookcase- only to see her being chased by a giant hair dryer! _Akuma_ , Adrien concluded, his eyes narrowing in had certainly been due to strike; he hadn't seen his lady for at least five days!

Transforming, he and Ladybug- _wait,_ _how did she get here so fast?_ \- quickly defeated the hairdryer, only for the akumatized person to get away. Seeing as the Evillustrator's creations had been targeting Chloe in the library, they agreed to focus their attention on protecting her. The akuma was bound to show up again.

But shortly after they arrived at Le Grand Paris, Chat could tell that something was off with Ladybug; she hadn't been her usual cheerful self in her interactions with Chloe. When she left him to protect Chloe on his own, he didn't know what to think. Was his lady annoyed with him? What was wrong with her?

Twenty minutes after she left, as he was pretending to work on Chloe's project for her, his baton rang. "You can't just fly out of here and then decide to make cat calls, Ladybug," he teased as he answered the call on the balcony.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't cool. But you can leave Chloe; I need you to protect this girl instead." A photo popped up on Chat's baton, and he gasped in recognition. "Her name is Marinette. Really cute, isn't she?" He couldn't help but agree with her, only to feel a surge of guilt run through him as Ladybug continued. "The Evillustrator is in love with her and promised not to harm Chloe as long as Marinette comes to his birthday party." Chat pushed Chloe away from him as she motioned to her physics project, trying to focus on the phone call. "While he's distracted, I want you to take him down."

"What about you?" Chat asked, ready to take her lead but still weary of her weird attitude from earlier.

"I'm going on a- a very important secret mission. I'll catch up with you later. Can you handle this alone?"

"Heh, please, it'll be a cinch!" Chat wasn't quite sure what Ladybug meant by "secret mission," but he was glad that she trusted him enough to protect Marinette on his own. He quickly hung up, informed an indignant Chloe that she was out of danger, and took off towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

On his way over, a sudden thought made him pause on the rooftops. _Maybe this is my chance to touch Marinette as Chat and see if she's my soulmate…_ He leapt towards the next building with newfound vigor, a sense of giddy anticipation building up in his chest.

When he arrived, he saw that Marinette was talking with Sabrina outside the door to the upstairs apartment.

"I bet you expect me to do all the work like she did! Right?" Sabrina yelled.

Marinette was taken aback. "No- I don't really! It's just that-"

Sabrina swiped a folder from Marinette, her angry expression dropping as she turned away. "I can't believe I did your geography homework for you," she voiced, saddened.

Marinette outstretched her hand as Sabrina walked away, not knowing what to say. Chat deemed this the perfect- ahem, _purrfect_ \- time to drop in.

"Woah! I thought I was going to have to save you from that girl's claws!" He smirked. "Get it? _Claws_?" He waggled his claw-shaped hands in front of her.

"Hey, I haven't even introduced myself." He kneeled down and took her hand. On the inside his heart started beating a bit faster, but he fought to keep his suave exterior. "I'm Chat Noir."

He kissed the back of her hand with zeal, and subsequently felt a strong flash go through his body before she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Uh, yeah I know!" she exclaimed, looking both nervous and excited. "You kind of save the day all the time and stuff? I'm Marinette!" She waved a hand in the air with the introduction. "Um, what are you doing here?"

Chat pivoted and flexed his biceps. "Well, that birthday boy date of yours is bad news. But don't worry, you'll be safe with me." The part of Chat that was more reserved cringed at how he was showing off, but he decided to indulge the model in him. He felt the need to impress her, especially since she might be his soulmate.

"That puts my mind at ease," she said, sounding reassured.

He turned around and leaned a hand against the doorframe, getting a bit closer to her. "But I am going to need a bit of help. Care to assist a _superhero_?" He tilted his head on that last word, curious for her reaction.

"What about Ladybug? Aren't you a duo?" He saw the edges of a smirk appear on Marinette's face before she turned completely around. Were they… bantering?

"She's busy with something tonight," he informed her, briefly hoping that his lady was doing okay with whatever "secret mission" she was on. He promptly refocused on Marinette, a large part of him desiring to touch her again. "So, _you_ get to be my Ladybug."

When Marinette turned around, she looked surprised, eyes and smile wide. "Me and Chat Noir- fighting crime together? Amazing!" Her hands briefly came up to her beaming cheeks. "What do I do?"

"Just get that drawing pencil away from him, little lady. I'll take care of the rest." And with that, he saluted her and bounded off again, deciding that another hand kiss would've been too much, no matter how much he wanted to do it.

After picking up the things he had left at the school when the akuma first arrived, he aimed for home, knowing that he had a few hours before he needed to suit up again. Landing in his bedroom and detransforming, he collapsed onto his bed.

"Cheese!" Plagg complained.

"We didn't even use cataclysm," Adrien scolded. At Plagg's look, he rolled his eyes and gestured over to his recently acquired mini fridge. "You know where it is. Get it yourself." Plagg scoffed, but phased into the fridge, only to come out with a whole wheel of camembert.

Adrien stared up at the ceiling and sighed as he replayed the last 30 minutes in his head, particularly his interaction with Marinette. He wasn't dreaming, right? He had actually touched her as Chat! And he had still felt that spark when touching her!

"Plagg." Adrien's words came out numbly, even though his mind was going a mile a minute.

"Wha?" The kwami's word was muffled by the giant piece of cheese currently residing in his mouth. A loud gulping sound could be heard as he swallowed.

"I touched Marinette as Chat Noir." A little bit of awe had crept into his voice, almost if he didn't believe it.

"Oh great, this again," Plagg muttered, before taking another bite of his camembert. "And?" he asked Adrien, chewing audibly.

"I- I felt that spark again. Marinette- she _has_ to be my soulmate… right?" Adrien sounded a bit unsure and looked to Plagg for confirmation.

"Probably, kid. You'll know for sure when you become a black cat." Hope dared to bubble up in Adrien as a slow smile broke over his face. Plagg sighed; all this lovey-dovey stuff was making him lose his appetite! "Let's just hope you don't transform before fighting the akuma tonight," he grumbled.

Adrien, having heard Plagg, paled. What if he transformed before fighting Evillustrator? What if they changed into their soul animals during the fight? He had promised Ladybug he would protect Marinette, and now he had all the more reason to protect her if she was his soulmate! He had just put her in even more danger!

Seeing Adrien's expression, Plagg quickly intervened. "Jeez, kid, chill out. Miraculous holders tend to take longer to turn into their soul animals, so there's no need to worry. And you can't even transform into your soul animal if you're Chat Noir; the miraculous magic is too strong when I'm in the ring. So, c'mon. Sit back and relax. Enjoy some cheese." He held up his smelly triangle block, before gleefully stuffing his face with it.

Adrien scowled. "Plagg, you know I have a ton of stuff to do. I can't just sit around and relax! And I can't risk changing into my soul animal before the fight either. Plagg-"

Said kwami gasped in horror, only now realizing the consequence of his words. "No! My precious cheeeesee!"

"Claws out!"

* * *

 **A/N: Congrats to those of you who guessed that Dr. Marieur is indeed Dr. Matchmaker! When I was coming up with the name, I first looked up random French last names to see if any stuck, but then I wanted to see if I could make a pun out of it! And Marieur seemed like a cool last name to me, lol.**

 **So, is Adrien going to change into his soul animal now, after the events of this chapter? Hmm... XD**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	9. Chapter 9: Excuses

CHAPTER 9: Excuses

After Adrien had changed into Chat Noir again, he couldn't sit still, pacing anxiously around his room. He tried doing some of his homework, tried writing something for the physics project, and even practiced his Chinese for a solid 5 minutes. Now, as he sat down to practice the piano, he realized he couldn't really play it with the clawed gloves of his supersuit. He sighed in defeat and banged his head against the keys. The disharmonious sound matched his mood perfectly, as his mind could not decide what emotion to settle on.

 _Well, if I can't be productive doing the things Adrien should be doing, maybe I should just go out again,_ he thought, turning his head to glance outside. It did feel a bit weird just lounging around his room as Chat Noir instead of Adrien; what if Nathalie or his father came into his room, only to see a superhero in his place? He didn't need all the questions that would surely result from a situation like that, not when he was dealing with protecting Marinette from an akuma. Plus, Ladybug would kill him if someone found out his identity.

After sending a quick message to Nathalie to let her know he was working a project with his friends at school, he eagerly jumped out his window and took to the rooftops. His anxiety diminished as he moved around, but his thoughts remained on Marinette. He decided to go find her, not coming up with anything else to do. _I could watch over her,_ he justified, _just in case she turns into her soul animal!_ That was reasonable, right?

Scouring the streets for his classmate, he realized he had no idea where she could be. He had last left her on the doorstep of the bakery a little over an hour ago. Did she stay home, because she was only answering the door for Sabrina? Did she go out to do something? Was she already heading towards Notre Dame, where she would meet up with the akuma near the Seine? He decided the best place to look first would be the bakery and the surrounding area. If he didn't find her, well, he'd figure out what to do later.

He landed on top of his school, closing in on the bakery. From here, he could see through a few windows of the apartment upstairs but didn't find Marinette. He circled around the building, peaking through the different windows and being extra thorough in checking what he thought was Marinette's room. No such luck.

Lastly, he checked the actual bakery itself, figuring that his classmate might be helping her parents with their business. But the bakery actually looked pretty empty at the moment, the lunch rush being done for the day. Marinette's mother was rearranging the pastries in the front display cabinet.

Getting a bit frustrated, he hopped back up onto the rooftops in order to avoid the civilians on the street, who would be sure to question him if he stayed down for too long. He paused on top of the school building and decided that expanding his search outward would help, especially if Marinette was somewhere on the streets. But it was also likely for her to be at a friend's house or somewhere else indoors where it would be hard to see her. _Wow, trying to find Marinette is a lot harder than I thought it would be…_

And then a scary thought came to him: _what if she's already transformed into her soul animal?_ How would he be able to find her then?

He felt his heart rate increase a little in panic, and he took a deep breath to force himself to calm down. It had only been- what, maybe an hour or two?- since he had kissed her hand? _Surely she hasn't transformed yet…_

He was just about to leap off the roof again to do circles around the bakery, when he glimpsed a familiar figure walking down the street. _Marinette!_ She had a few shopping bags with her; it was obvious that she had just gotten some groceries. He ducked down out of her sight ( _not that she was looking up anyway,_ he chided himself), unsure how she would react to seeing him. He _was_ supposed to be protecting her, but technically not until later.

His eyes followed her as she entered the bakery, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek and setting down the bags on the counter. They conversed for a minute before Marinette disappeared through the back of the bakery. _Where did she go?_

He once again circled the bakery to find her, but was relieved to know that she was at least inside and safe. A minute or two later he observed her entering her room through the trapdoor with a plate full of cookies. She set the plate down on her desk and shoved one into her mouth, which made Chat immediately salivate. He had heard from Alya and Nino how amazing her family's baked goods were and resolved to try some soon, model diet be damned.

As she plopped down on her chaise and took out her sketchbook, pencil swiftly running over the page in inspiration, Chat was grateful for the convenient angle of sight into her room. From his position, he would definitely be able to see if something happened, like if she changed into her soul animal, or if the akuma came for her before their meet-up time. With that thought, he took out his baton to check the time: 4:29pm. Just about two hours until sunset.

An hour flew by as he viewed her from his position on the adjacent rooftop. He stared, slightly enraptured by her changing expressions as she worked, her tongue briefly sticking out in random intervals. He wondered how often people saw her like this- so in the zone- and he briefly felt guilty for spying on her. _But,_ he reasoned as he pushed away his conscience, _this is necessary_.And he couldn't deny that he enjoyed viewing a side of Marinette he hadn't seen before.

He had rarely taken his eyes off her for the duration of his watching, so he was surprised to see that her whole plate of cookies was gone when she reached for the last one. He was sure he had only seen her eat one or two, but maybe he had missed it while lost in thought.

A few minutes after she had eaten her final cookie, his enhanced hearing picked up a voice sounding from the floor below: "Marinette, time for dinner!"

The girl was so focused that it was like she didn't even hear the yelling. Chat chuckled in amusement, curiously watching for what would happen next. After a minute or so, the superhero heard someone on the stairs, a heavy sort of gait from what he could tell. His eyes were trained on Marinette as she jumped and looked up from her work, startled. Shifting his position a bit, he saw that her father had opened the trapdoor, and was telling her that dinner was ready. A sheepish smile dawned on her face, and the large man chuckled fondly before beckoning her down the stairs.

They ate dinner quickly; Chat watched through another window as Marinette nervously looked at the time on her phone while eating. _Oh right, sunset is getting close._ He felt his stomach suddenly tie itself in knots as he was reminded of why he was here- not to spy on her, but to protect her. Determination flooded through him, and he stood from his held position, shaking himself loose in preparation to move.

He listened in as she said goodbye to her parents, making an excuse about going over to a friend's house for the physics project. It was obvious that they didn't know where she was really going. He didn't know whether to commend her for her bravery for being so willing to face the akuma alone, or to reprimand her for not letting her parents know what was going on. It was obvious they cared about her, and he was a bit envious and upset that she was taking their love for granted at the moment. What if something happened to her with the akuma? They didn't even know that she was putting herself in danger!

He followed the sound of her feet as she ran down the stairs, and she stopped briefly in the now-closed bakery to fish a few more cookies from the display. _She's so lucky to have access to so many baked goods,_ he thought, in a brief surge of jealousy. She stashed the cookies in her purse before leaving out the door.

As she power-walked towards Notre Dame, Chat followed her closely over the rooftops. After fifteen minutes or so, he saw Evillustrator in the distance, and hung back from the akuma's sight as items shimmered into existence onto the boat. When Marinette stepped up to greet the akuma, Adrien finally felt the full weight of the night rest on his shoulders.

 _It's time for you to be_ _ **erased**_ _, akuma._

* * *

"We've been penned in! Literally!" Next to her, Chat Noir hit the sides of the box in frustration. _Dang it._ The plan had been going so well...

When Marinette had approached the akuma earlier, she had felt confident- not just because she was secretly Ladybug and currently had Chat for protection, but because she felt sure that Nathaniel- er, Evillustrator- wouldn't hurt her. Obviously, that had changed when the akuma found out she had betrayed him. While trapping them in this box wasn't directly hurting them, it was certainly a threat on the now-sinking boat.

Tikki tried to fly out of her bag, as if sensing her distress. But Marinette hurriedly pushed her back in; she could still solve this without transforming! Desperately looking around like she often did when a lucky charm was present, she immediately found a solution to their box problem. "Chat Noir! Your stick, like this!" She grabbed his baton to turn it vertically, motioning upwards. "Then extend it!"

"Great thinking!" he exclaimed, beaming at her. He then proceeded to wrap an arm around her waist in preparation to lift her off of the boat.

"Yeah, I'm a genius!" she agreed, slightly annoyed that he was so close to her. _Does he ever stop flirting?_ She quickly grabbed his arm to pull it away from her, while also briefly pushing his face away with her hand. She ignored the not-so-subtle warmth that passed through her at touching him, trying to focus on getting out of their predicament so they could fight the akuma.

Chat Noir used his baton as she had directed, propelling them all the way to the bridge. He smoothly caught her bridal style when they landed, shortening his baton and kick flipping it back into his hand as he put her down.

"Gotta go," he said as he stored his stick on his lower back. "A superhero's work is never done. Damsels in distress, ladies in waiting…" He ticked off a few fingers on his raised hand. "I got a lot more saving to do. You can thank me later!" He ran off, jumping across the buildings towards Le Grand Paris.

Tikki flew up to Marinette's eye level as the girl scoffed at his words. "Me? Thank him? Please! He should be thanking me! We'd still be trapped if I hadn't told him how to do his job." She put finger quotes around the word "job."

"Speaking of which…" Tikki motioned with her arm and gave her holder a look.

Marinette smiled, determination showing on her face. "That boy's going to need our help saving Chloe!"

When Ladybug got to the hotel, she instantly realized that fighting the akuma would be tricky, considering he had the ability to draw whatever he wanted with his pen and tablet combination. But then she had remembered that he couldn't draw in the dark and it became a lot easier to defeat him. Even though Chat's cataclysm failed, her lucky charm gave another way to get rid of all the lights in the room. And after throwing the bouncy ball with a precision only Ladybug's luck could give her, obtaining Evillustrator's pen and capturing the akuma had been a piece of cake. She even had enough time to make it safely home before she transformed back into Marinette.

"Ugh, Tikki, that akuma was exhausting." She dramatically flopped onto her chaise, having just said goodnight to her parents downstairs. Tikki giggled from where she had landed on Marinette's leg, eating the cookies the girl had stuffed into her purse earlier.

"You did great, Marinette! Now you just have the physics project left to do!"

Marinette sat up in panic, before groaning into her hands. "Dang it, the project… I totally messed up with Sabrina today, didn't I?"

"Don't worry! It wasn't your fault; there was an akuma after all," Tikki reassured her. "You have a few more days before it's due, right? That's enough time for you to make amends with Sabrina and get the project done!"

Marinette smiled gratefully at her kwami. "You're right, Tikki. Maybe I should get some of my other homework done tonight so that I can dedicate more time to the project tomorrow."

"That's a great idea!" the bug voiced. "Just make sure you don't stay up too late, though."

A modest grin graced the girl's face at Tikki's mother-like tone. "I won't."

Marinette forced herself to stand up from the chaise before she fell asleep right then and there. She immediately dropped right back down into her desk chair and pulled out her tablet from her backpack, which she had retrieved from the school earlier in the day, long before going on her "date" with the akuma. For about an hour, she trudged through her homework until she felt too exhausted to think any longer.

Wanting to get as much sleep as possible, she quickly changed into a pair of pajamas and washed her face in her nightly routine. As she crawled into bed, she lazily undid her pigtails, keeping the hair bands on her wrist. Tikki was already half-asleep on the pillow next to her, and Marinette sought to follow her example.

However, even though she was both physically and mentally exhausted from the day, two instances stuck with her and kept her from immediately going to sleep. The first was when Chat had kissed her hand; the second being when she had pushed his face away when they were trapped in the box. Both times had involved skin-to-skin contact with Chat Noir, each causing a familiar shock to pass through her.

 _Did I feel…_ _ **the spark**_ _with Chat?_

She thought she would only ever feel that way with her soulmate, which in her mind was obviously Adrien, even though that had yet to be confirmed. _Maybe it's some sort of residual miraculous magic between us,_ she thought, trying to convince herself otherwise. _There's no way Chat and I could be soulmates._

Part of her was tempted to ask Tikki for clarification, but she opted not to, willing to let it go in favor of sleep. After all, she was perfectly fine with her life the way it was: loving Adrien from afar, and _just_ being superhero partners with Chat. Nothing had to change too much. Well, except finding out for sure that Adrien was her soulmate.

 _Oh, Adrien,_ Marinette thought longingly, as she snuggled under the covers further. The boy of her dreams was a much better topic to think about as she fell asleep. She reached over in sudden remembrance to turn on her alarm for the morning and rubbed Tikki's head in fondness as her arm traveled back under the covers.

"Goodnight, Tikki," she murmured, already starting to drift off.

"Goodnight, Marinette," came the sleepy kwami's reply.

Marinette soon became dead to the world, while phantoms of black cats persisted in her dreams.

* * *

 **A/N: Marinette, I think you're in denial... Adrien is a bit as well. XD**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	10. Chapter 10: Disappointment

**A/N: PREPARE YOURSELVES... FOR ANGST!**

* * *

CHAPTER 10: Disappointment

The next morning she got to school early, having got an extremely good night's rest for once. When she walked into the locker room, she saw that Chloe was giving Alya an interview for the Ladyblog. Marinette couldn't help but giggle at Chloe's rendition of the fight from the previous night. It was then that Sabrina came up to her.

"I hope you had a good time last night, taking care of that _important thing_ you had to do?" Sabrina's arms were crossed, her voice taking on an accusing tone.

Marinette sighed in her head, mustering her patience. "I'm really sorry Sabrina, but I can meet you in the library today and finally work on the project with you."

"Too late! Hmph!" Sabrina turned around, not really accepting her apology. "Chloe and I are doing the project together!"

"You mean, you're doing the project?" Marinette guessed, knowingly.

Sabrina pivoted to face towards Marinette again, surprised. "Well, of course, after all she's been through!"

Marinette sighed at her classmate's naivety and brought a hand up to her shaking head. What else could she do to make amends with Sabrina? She eyed the hat on top of the girl's head. "Nice new barrette, by the way."

"I know, right! Chloe lent it to me!" Sabrina made a gleeful noise as her hands cupped her cheeks. "She really is my BFF!"

Marinette watched as Sabrina happily darted away, trying to get Chloe's attention. _Well, I'll have to find some way to do the project with them. Maybe I'll talk to the teacher later…_ She started to close her locker door but was startled when a person's voice sounded from behind it.

"Hey!" Marinette shrieked and jumped back at the sight of Adrien in front of her.

Adrien smiled disarmingly at her. "I heard about your adventures with Chat Noir yesterday! Were you scared?"

"Me scared? Pfft!" She waved a hand at him, trying to appear nonchalant amongst her increasing internal panic. "It was a dream. I mean, you're a dream! I mean, in your dreams!" She pointed both fingers at him, feeling a wave of embarrassment flow through her. "Oh, this is a nightmare," she muttered, holding her head in her hand in self-consciousness.

"O-kay…" Adrien said, disoriented from her blabbermouth. "So, what'd you think of Chat Noir? Was he awesome?" His eyes were wide, eager for her answer.

"I mean, sure, yeah! But not as awesome as you, of course! Who could be? You're the most awesome-of-awesome!"

"So, that's a yes?" Adrien seemed to consider her words for a bit, before nodding to himself. The bell rang, and he patted her shoulder as he left to go to class.

Tikki popped up on her shoulder, trying to stay out of sight. "You do realize you just blathered on to Adrien about how you think he's awesome, don't you?"

Marinette sighed, love-struck. "He touched my shoulder. I'll never wash my jacket again."

Tikki just shook her head in exasperation. "Girl, you've got to get better control of your emotions…"

* * *

Adrien walked away from his short conversation with Marinette a tad bit confused. Her words were a bit jumbled, but he did catch it when she agreed that his alter ego was awesome. She had also said a bunch of other stuff, but he ignored that in favor of focusing on her impression of Chat. Did she actually like his superhero self?

 _That's… good,_ he thought, beginning to feel a bit of relief poke through his internal nervousness.

After successfully beating the akuma last night, his transformation had run out not far from Chloe's hotel. He had kind of expected to change into his soul animal shortly after returning to himself, thinking that the soulmate magic would immediately activate after being Chat Noir for so long and holding off the transformation. But, after a minute of hearing Plagg whine about cheese and monitoring how his body felt, he figured that he still had to wait for a bit longer. It was then that he realized he wasn't sure what to expect when he transformed; he was actually a bit glad that he didn't change into a cat in a back alley of all places. So, with the idea that he needed to wait a bit longer, Adrien walked home, only to get a scolding from Nathalie for getting home so late. He had gone to bed after receiving her lecture, hoping that he would transform into his soul animal during the middle of the night.

In the morning he woke up, still human as ever. And that was when his doubts started to intensify- what if he didn't transform? What if Marinette wasn't his soulmate? Doing the mental math as he walked to his first class, he reasoned that he had first touched Marinette as Chat Noir during the afternoon the day before, so the 24-hour mark would be near the end of school. Certainly both of them would transform within the next few hours, right?

He was distracted all day, waiting for it to just happen already. He kept glancing back at Marinette, wondering what she was thinking and feeling. Did she feel the spark, too? Was she even aware that she might find her soulmate today? Would she be okay with him being the one? His patience was wearing thin.

There was one moment in the day where he thought of Ladybug, when Alya brought up yesterday's library fight with Evillustrator. He felt a surge of guilt flow through him at the thought of his lady; he felt like he was betraying her by hoping that he had found his soulmate in Marinette. Surely she would understand, right? It was a basically a given in their society that soulmates won over other romantic relationships, as the bond between soulmates was just that much stronger. He was surprisingly okay with letting go his affections for Ladybug if it meant gaining Marinette as his soulmate.

Eventually, the final bell rang, and everyone started packing up; some students headed home, while others went to participate in their afterschool extracurriculars. Adrien sat in his seat numbly, a wave of disappointment flowing through him. He watched as Marinette and Alya walked out the classroom door together, discussing the literature homework.

"Dude."

 _Why hasn't it happened yet?_

"Dude, Adrien!"

Maybe he had gotten the timing wrong?

"Adrien!"

Adrien jumped up, finally hearing his best friend beside him. "Yes?"

Nino gave him a look. "You've been out of it all day, man. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no! Nothing's wrong. Just tired." Adrien knew it was a lame excuse, but he couldn't just tell Nino about his predicament.

It was obvious that Nino only partly believed him, but let it go, to Adrien's relief. "So, do you have time today to work on the project today with me and Alya?" Nino asked.

Adrien nodded as they both stood up from their seats. "Yeah, of course. Sorry my dad was being a stickler about my safety yesterday," he apologized, referencing the excuse he gave his friend last night. "He didn't want me to go out when there was an akuma threat still on the loose."

"Understandable, dude." Nino clapped him on the shoulder as they walked out the door. "Hey, I think Alya said she'd meet us in the library."

"Okay," Adrien said, as he followed Nino down the hall.

The physics project sufficiently held his attention for a few hours before he went home to an empty house. His schedule said he was supposed to practice his Chinese for an hour, but instead he opted to play some of his video games, trying to distract himself from the growing disappointment inside him. As more and more time passed, it became more and more likely that Marinette wasn't his soulmate.

He couldn't completely avoid thinking about it though; his mind kept replaying all the times he had touched her, both as Chat and Adrien. He had touched her twice as Chat- there was no way he would forget her fingers on his chin that second time- and twice, er- three times as Adrien, since they had _technically_ touched twice when he gave his umbrella to her. Surely all those interactions would be enough for the soulmate magic to overcome the miraculous magic. Plagg had said he just needed to touch her as both Adrien and Chat Noir for it to work.

He didn't sleep very well that night, as his mind kept coming up with reasons why they hadn't transformed into their soul animals yet. Maybe the miraculous interfered by also extending the amount of time it took to transform? Maybe he hadn't touched Marinette enough times or for long enough? Maybe he needed to have the same amount of touches with her as Adrien and Chat Noir? Or, maybe his extended time as Chat Noir yesterday caused it to just… not work?

His early morning photoshoot, one that was supposed to end before school started, ended up going long because he could barely keep his eyes open. Not even coffee could wake him up. Nathalie, the make-up artist, the photographer, and one of his father's top designers were all immensely frustrated with him for his abysmal performance. He had stopped apologizing after the fifteenth time, simply too tired to care anymore. When he did eventually get to school, it was almost lunch. Luckily, Nathalie had informed the teachers of the shoot running late, so when he walked in and sat down, Mrs. Bustier only gave him a nod before she continued her lecture.

"Wow, dude, you look horrible," Nino whispered, and Adrien merely looked at him and blinked, too exhausted to say something back. Forty-five minutes later, the bell snapped Adrien out of whatever daze he was in. Had he just spent all that time envisioning weird ice cream flavors and how they would taste?

"Dude, you coming?" Nino had stood up and was giving an understanding but pitying look towards Adrien.

"Yeah, sorry," Adrien grunted, picking up his bag from the floor. He followed Nino in a blind daze but became aware again when he saw they were walking outside. "Uh, where are we going?"

Nino gave him a surprised look as they stopped on the sidewalk. "Dude, it's Thursday. You said you would come and try out that new café with me. You had Nathalie put it into your schedule and everything."

"Oh, right." Adrien recalled their conversation on Monday, which felt like forever ago.

"Adrien," Nino addressed him seriously. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Adrien was silent for a moment as he considered what to tell his best friend. What was believable that also wasn't the truth? "Can I tell you later?" Adrien asked, hoping to just avoid the conversation entirely. It would certainly give him more time to come up with a feasible excuse.

Nino sighed, and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "Sure, dude. But I hate seeing you like this. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Adrien nodded, feeling eternally grateful he had found a friend in Nino. It was really too bad that he had to hide such a large part of his life from him. Other than Ladybug, Nino would be the first one he would tell his identity to, if he had the chance.

They walked to the café, and Adrien tried to listen as Nino discussed the newest video games and music. When they sat down, he wasn't feeling very hungry, opting to get only an appetizer for lunch. Nino had frowned at him, probably still wondering what was wrong, but didn't say anything. Once again, Adrien found himself thankful to have Nino as a friend.

The last few hours of classes were a blur to Adrien. He knew he had probably missed most of the material, and one teacher had even called him out on his inattentiveness, but he was _way_ past caring. He had probably covered a good portion of the material during his homeschooling years anyway.

As he waited outside for his ride to show up, someone came up beside him.

"A-Adrien?"

As he turned, he couldn't keep the surprise off his face. _Marinette._

"Yeah?" he asked, wondering what she wanted.

"Uh, um- I was just wondering, uh, if you were okay? You don't look very good today- uh! Not that you don't look good normally, you're a model- of course you always look good! Er- what I mean is, umm, you looked really tired today, and I just wanted to make sure you were, uh- alright?" Her voice did a little squeak at the end, and her hands clutched her purse strap.

Adrien took a second to figure out what she had asked, and when his brain actually computed her words, a warm feeling passed through him. It wasn't the same as when he touched her, but was caused by her genuine- if slightly disorienting- care for him. _She's always so concerned for others,_ he thought, surprised at the amount of affection he felt for her.

"Umm, I'm alright," he said, piecing together a response to answer her. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so yes- I'm pretty tired." He gave a low chuckle at that, and met her eyes. "Thank you for asking."

"Uh, of course," she stammered, and Adrien was suddenly hit by the overwhelming desire to touch her again, right here and now. Would one more touch work?

He saw one of her hands had drifted to her side, and he fixated on it. He stepped closer to her, unaware of her increasing blush, and took her hand. When the magic of her touch rushed through him again, he almost wanted to cry in relief.

"A-Adrien?"

He opened his eyes, unaware that he had even closed them, and met hers again. "Oh, uh, seriously, thank you," he said, repeating himself from earlier. He held onto her hand for a second longer before squeezing it and reluctantly letting go. Before she could say anything, a car horn sounded, and they both jumped.

"Sorry, my ride's here." He gave her a small smile, trying to build up his mask again. "Talk to you later?"

"S-sure."

He started to walk down the stairs, turning back to wave at her. "Thanks again!" This time, he wasn't even thanking her for being concerned; instead his words came from the fact that her touch had made him hopeful again. _Maybe now we'll transform,_ he thought, feeling optimistic.

Luckily, he slept better that night, meaning that he was able to come up with a sufficient excuse for both his father and Nino about why he had been so tired the day before. He was still feeling the sleep deprivation, but at least his brain was working now.

But a working brain meant his mind could go in circles again, thinking about Marinette, and desperately wishing- _hoping_ \- that they would transform into their soul animals soon. The day went by slowly in his waiting, and Adrien felt his hope dwindle to almost nothing as the hours continued to pass without him transforming into a cat.

So, it was on a Friday afternoon, almost three whole days after beating Evillustrator, that Adrien plopped onto his bed after school and asked his kwami one very important question.

"She's not my soulmate, is she?"

"Nope," Plagg said, a matter of fact. "You haven't transformed."

"But what if the soulmate magic just isn't strong enough yet? I still felt that warmth with Marinette; it's not like I can just ignore it and pretend it never happened!" Adrien was so confused, the _what-ifs_ and doubt churning in his sleep-deprived and emotional mind.

"Kid, I promise you- you would've changed by now if she was your soulmate. Just drop it and be done. Too much stress." With that Plagg zipped over to his trashcan, finished with the conversation. The god of destruction needed a break from all this soulmate stuff; the kid had been sighing for _days_. In Plagg's opinion, camembert was the only thing that was allowed to be that _mushy_ and _gooey_.

"Thanks a lot, Plagg," Adrien mumbled, sarcastically.

It was just so… unfair. _Why would I feel the spark with Marinette if she wasn't my soulmate? Why didn't we change? Does the universe hate me?_ Adrien felt bitterness piece his heart like an arrow. Even though his mind argued all the good things that had come from him being Chat Noir, he still felt betrayed- betrayed by Plagg, by the miraculous, by the soulmate magic for leading him on and confusing the hell out of him with the warmth he had felt from Marinette. _Apparently it really_ _ **is**_ _impossible to find my soulmate…_

Trying to conceal his increasing heartbreak, he flipped over and buried his head into his pillow, but that only made the tears well up faster. _No._ He would not cry, he would not cry, he would not-

Okay, maybe he cried a little.

* * *

 **A/N: Aww, poor Adrien. Trust me, things will get better in the future!**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	11. Chapter 11: Healing

CHAPTER 11: Healing

"Ahh!" Plagg yawned, stretching as he woke up from his catnap. He lazily floated out of his trash bin, curious to know what time it was and what Adrien was doing. He spied his chosen asleep in his bed, his back turned towards the kwami.

Plagg saw it was only a few hours after they had gotten home that day and zoomed over to the boy, thinking about waking him up to whine for cheese, since the mini fridge was empty. But when Plagg saw Adrien's face, he stilled.

"Oh no…" A deep frown grew on the kwami's face as he took in the sleeping teen's appearance. Fresh tear tracts lined his face, and his eyes were still red as if he had only rubbed them a minute ago. His breathing was slightly uneven, and as Plagg scanned his chosen, he saw that the teenager was still wearing the clothes he went to school in, a blanket twisted around his lower half. It was obvious that Adrien had cried himself to sleep, the mental stress and recent lack of rest hitting him hard.

Instantly, Plagg felt guilty. Yes, he had been annoyed at his lovesick chosen and all the soulmate stuff going on over the last few days, but he should have paid closer attention to Adrien's mood! The kwami knew that humans often had a fixation on finding their soulmates; Adrien wasn't any different, especially as a hormonal teenager. But Plagg didn't realize just how much this soulmate business with Marinette had affected his chosen. He was supposed to take care of his kittens!

The teen stirred, whimpering in his fitful sleep, and Plagg immediately cuddled against his chest. Purring with all his might, the kwami sought to do the opposite of his nature: heal his chosen's broken heart. _First his mom, and now this…_

Plagg hadn't been there when Adrien's mother had disappeared but was well aware the effect it had on Adrien's life. Part of the reason Adrien had been chosen as the wielder of the cat miraculous, other than having a black cat for a soul animal and the potential to be a hero, was that Adrien had already experienced some destruction in his life- namely, the recent void left by his mother. Some of the damage caused from her disappearance had been healed with love from other places, especially since Adrien now had his friends and Ladybug in his life. But now his chosen's heart was hurting even more, and Plagg hated that it was partly his fault.

The teen stirred again at his kwami's purring, eyes opening at the foreign sensation. "Plagg?" his murmured, his voice sleepy and confused.

Not knowing how to respond, Plagg simply kept purring into his chosen's chest as Adrien wrapped a lethargic hand around the kwami's small body. A few seconds passed as the teen recalled his most recent memories, and Plagg only purred louder when the boy tensed up to hold in a sob. However, the dam inside Adrien broke once again within seconds. But this time he had a shoulder to lean on- er, a kwami to hug- and with the comfort Plagg offered he was able to calm down after a few minutes.

"Plagg?" Adrien's voice was small.

"Yeah, Adrien?" the god responded hesitantly, just as quiet.

"Thanks. Uh, for being here."

"Don't mention it." Plagg gently floated out from Adrien's grasp to view his chosen's face. The kwami patted the teen's cheek, promising without words that everything would be okay. Adrien nodded at the hovering cat and started wiping away his tears.

Plagg sat down on the pillow next to Adrien, contemplating his chosen's plight. It was very strange that Adrien didn't transform into his soul animal after touching Marinette as both Adrien and Chat Noir. The only explanation that made sense to Plagg was that she wasn't his soulmate, and that whatever Adrien experienced when touching the girl wasn't soulmate magic. _Maybe he just imagined it?_ Plagg wondered, desperately hoping his chosen wasn't _that_ starved for affection.

The cat god rubbed his forehead with his paw, tired from all this thinking, and decided to just stick with his judgment of the situation. Adrien could move on, maybe fall in love with someone else- even if that idea made Plagg cringe for his own sake. The kwami knew that humans could be happy with someone who wasn't their soulmate; he had lived with many past holders who had never found theirs. Why should Adrien be any different?

"Plagg," Adrien inquired, his voice cracking a bit as he finished rubbing his eyes dry. "Can we go out for a bit?"

"Of course, kid," Plagg answered seriously, before turning a bit snarky. "Just don't forget to stock the fridge when we get back."

"Sure," Adrien replied, a small smile lighting on his face when Plagg agreed. He sat up to undo the blankets tangled around his legs, stretching when he stood up. He went to the bathroom to quickly wash his face and emerged feeling refreshed, even though he was still sad.

"Plagg, claws out." The kwami entered the ring without protest, and Adrien relished in the magic as it washed over him. It promised freedom, not just from this house his father liked to keep him in, but also from his tumultuous emotions.

Like a cat, he slinked off into the night.

* * *

"Y'know, there's always Ladybug, kid."

The comment was said casually, like an afterthought, causing Adrien to look questionably at a hovering Plagg with an eyebrow raised. "Who are you, and what have you done with the real kwami of destruction?"

"Hey, I'm just saying," Plagg argued, holding his little paws up in the air in surrender. "If you love Ladybug at least half as much as I love cheese, then I say go for it! And that's all I'm going to say on the subject."

The teasing comment about him loving Ladybug felt a little like a punch in the gut with everything that had happened, but Adrien masked it with his own teasing tone. "Aww Plagg, I didn't know you were a secret romantic at heart!"

The kwami scoffed. "I'll have you know that I would _absolutely_ love it if you could keep your romantic thoughts to yourself, lover-boy. It's gross! Ack!" Plagg pretended to gag, amusing Adrien. He knew that Plagg really cared, but just didn't like to show it often.

Adrien was currently in his bathroom, getting ready for the day. It had been a little over two weeks since his emotional breakdown, and the teen thought he was doing pretty well, all things considered.

The first few days after his crying fit, people could tell that something was wrong. The pictures from one of his photoshoots had to be thrown out, due to the fact that a touch of melancholy had permeated every single smile he had given the camera that day. Adrien hated that he had disappointed his father but reasoned that he could only mask his internal feelings so much. It was even worse that neither Nathalie nor his father had asked about his emotional wellbeing, only mentioning indifferently that he needed to do better.

After the weekend passed, Adrien had to go back to school. He had been dreading seeing Marinette again, simply because he wasn't sure how to even act around her anymore. Logically, he knew that nothing about their friendship had really changed, just his perspective. For all he knew, she hadn't even experienced the spark, and there was no reason to shake their already rocky friendship by telling her about it.

He avoided her for about a week, even though he felt bad for doing so. Alya and Nino both noticed his depression and aversion to Marinette. When they called him out on the latter in particular, he told them he was avoiding everyone, which was actually partly true. After all, no one was able understand what he was going through. The only person that could even remotely relate was Ladybug because she likely knew about how the miraculous interfered with the soulmate magic. Since Adrien couldn't explain anything about the situation to his friends, the only thing he could offer them was lame excuses.

Weirdly enough, his support over the last two weeks came from the last place he had expected: Plagg. The kwami had been so snarky in their first few months together, always whining for cheese and questioning Adrien's decisions. But recently, the magical cat had been a silent source of comfort, only being sarcastic when he was trying to make Adrien smile. It made Adrien reconsider what he knew about Plagg; underneath all the cat quirks and demands for cheese was a being that actually truly cared about him. Adrien felt touched by the effort his kwami made to cheer him up and tone down his cynical nature.

Plagg had also immensely helped by letting Adrien continue his outings as Chat Noir, even when no akumas were about. Exerting himself on the rooftops of Paris gave Adrien time to sort through his thoughts, far away from any distractions and people he needed to put up a mask around. It had been before one of these outings that Plagg reminded him- through some sarcastic comment or another- that Marinette had been "just a friend" at one point in time. This had sparked a revelation in Adrien: she _was_ just a friend. The only reason he had been so focused on her was because she had the potential to be his soulmate. But now that he knew better, he was no longer under the pressure to be anything _more_ than just a friend to her. The realization had put his mind at ease, though he still felt a bit awkward when he saw her at school.

A few days had gone by since then, and Adrien felt more like himself. He fixed one more strand of hair before leaving the bathroom and going down the stairs for breakfast. Today he was determined to treat Marinette no differently than he had before all this soulmate stuff had come up.

But then Nino decided to drop a bombshell on him before class started.

"Dude, I think I have a crush on Marinette."

"What?" Adrien stared at his best friend in shock as his heart dropped out of his chest.

"I think I have a crush on Marinette! What do I do?!" Nino grasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, and Adrien could see that his friend really meant it. _Marinette's just a friend,_ he reminded himself. _It's totally fine if Nino has a crush on her._

"Dude, that's great!" Adrien cried, trying to be happy for his best friend. Nino smiled shakily back at him.

"Uh yeah," Nino agreed, but then turned pleading again. "But dude, what do I do?"

"C'mon Nino, it can't be that hard," Adrien encouraged, leaning an elbow on his desk. "Just go up and talk to her, maybe invite her on a date?"

Nino deflated a little. "I don't know if I can do that, dude. Do you remember what happened last time I asked a girl out?"

He was referencing the time about a month ago when he had tried to ask out a girl he barely knew. He invited her to the movies, stuttering a little, but she had turned him down, claiming to already have a boyfriend. Nino was too nice of a guy to intrude on that, so he sulked for a few days before getting over her. Adrien had supported Nino throughout the whole thing, being the best friend he was.

"Yes, I remember," Adrien answered. "But that doesn't mean the same thing will happen with Marinette."

"I know, but-" Nino cut himself off when he saw the object of his affections walk through the classroom door with her best friend. The girls waved at them as they walked past, Marinette a little more flustered when her eyes landed on Adrien.

As the girls moved to sit in their seats behind the boys, Adrien eyed Nino knowingly with a small smirk on his face. Nino's blush intensified as he glared back at Adrien and hastily whispered, "We'll talk about this later!"

It was then that the teacher walked into the classroom and brought their attention to the front. Hours passed as they went from subject to subject, and Adrien almost forgot about his conversation with his friend that morning. When the bell for lunch rang, he saw Nino glance back at Marinette longingly, and frowned as an inkling of jealousy coursed through him.

"Hey Nino, I need to run to the restroom real quick before we go to lunch, okay?"

Nino gave him a sheepish thumbs-up, knowing Adrien had caught him looking at Marinette. "Yeah dude, I'll wait for you."

Adrien nodded, and took off for the bathroom. He quickly did his business and moved towards the sink to wash his hands. Seeing as no one else was in the bathroom, Plagg decided to come out of hiding.

"Ooooh, Nino having crush on Marinette. I wonder why that sounds familiar?"

Adrien scowled at his kwami, not appreciating his taunting. "Plagg, she's just a friend. Now hide before someone sees you." He shut off the water and glared at the cat god. Plagg just gave him a serious look, reading his chosen's mood like a book. "I'm fine," Adrien assured, and Plagg relented with an eye-roll and a sigh before hiding back in the teen's shirt.

As Adrien walked out of the bathroom, he spotted Nino near the front of the school. He watched as his friend peeked around a bunch of boards leaning against the wall to stare at the girls- specifically Marinette- who were sitting across the courtyard _. I can do this,_ he thought, knowing that he would be roped into being Nino's wingman on this one. _She's just a friend. Nino deserves to be happy, and Marinette's an amazing person. I can do this._

"FYI, Marinette's never going to fall in love with a statue," he teased his friend as he walked up. Nino swiftly took him by the shoulders to hide behind the boards again.

"Shhh! You know I'm no good with the ladies, especially this one all of a sudden." Nino sulked a little, his hands dropping to the sides. "I mean, dude, do I go up to her and crack a joke? Shoot her a compliment? Invite her to the zoo? Play it serious?" He brought his hands up to his head, panicking a little.

Adrien could only shake his head in slight amusement, even as his heart ached a little. "Nino, you're way over-thinking this. Invite her to the zoo? Are you serious?"

Nino sighed. "Well, they have this really cool new exhibit there," he explained.

"Listen," Adrien said, slinging his arm around his friend to play up his bravado, "just be yourself, man!"

"Easy for you to say, Mister front-of-the-cover Teen Model Weekly," Nino said, shrugging off Adrien with a bit of anger. "I'm not that cool!"

"You're cool too, dude!" Adrien counterclaimed, seeking to immediately encourage his friend. "Trust me, or you wouldn't be my best bud! Invite her to the zoo; she'll say yes!" Adrien put a fisted hand over his heart with a sincerity that surprised himself. "I promise."

Nino nodded in determination and fixed his hat. Adrien watched as his best friend stalked over to the girls, only to run back in panic when he got close to them.

"Ahhh, what if I act like a moronosaurus?" Nino crouched down towards the ground, dismayed by his lack of courage. "Or she disses me, or thinks I'm lame, or-"

"It's okay," Adrien reassured, and Nino dejectedly stood back up. "I got your back." He offered a fist-bump to his best friend, and Nino bumped it back with a growing smile on his face.

"Thanks, dude."

"Come on! Let's wait for them outside!" Adrien dragged Nino out the front doors and down the steps before he could let his hidden emotions decide differently for him. They didn't stop until they were hidden near the side of the stairs.

"Now, we'll just wait until we hear them come out and then go talk to them," Adrien explained, the simple plan forming in his mind. Nino merely nodded, nervous at their pending interaction with the girls.

They hadn't waited even two minutes before they heard Alya's loud voice and Marinette's responding giggle to her friend. Adrien smirked at Nino and motioned with a thumb for them to meet the girls.

"All of the above," was all that Adrien heard from Marinette before she plowed into Nino. The magazine she was holding dropped onto the ground.

Adrien popped out from behind Nino, noticing that his best friend was stiff as a board. "Oh! So sorry," he apologized, bring a hand to his mouth in fake shock. "Right, Nino?" He bumped his friend's shoulder, signaling him to act.

"S-Sorry!" Nino stuttered, eyes wide.

Marinette squeaked, her eyes going down to the magazine she dropped. Adrien noticed her gaze- _Wait, is that me on the cover?_ \- and leaned down to pick it up. Unfortunately, Marinette had the same idea; they banged heads and touched hands briefly as they both reached for the magazine. Adrien felt the familiar soulmate warmth pass through him at touching her again and pushed down the sudden wave of despair that threatened to overtake him. _Hold it together! She's not your soulmate! You're helping Nino, remember?_

"Sorry about that!" he exclaimed, a fake cheery smile on his face. "How could we make it up to you?" Adrien pretended to think. "Any ideas, Nino?"

Nino merely whimpered, and Adrien forced himself to continue. "How 'bout we all check out the, uh, zoo today! Word is they've got a new…" He snapped his fingers in front of the other boy's face, trying to get Nino to participate in the conversation.

"Uh! They've got a, they've got a new panther!" Nino blurted, his voice sounding strained. He grinned awkwardly.

"Awesome idea!" Alya proclaimed. "Right, Marinette? You love animals!"

"Um, yeah! I, uh, I'm really into zoonimals. I mean, ah- anizools! I mean- zoonimoos! I- uhhh-" Marinette groaned in embarrassment at herself.

"Cool! Say, after school? 4 o'clock?" Adrien held up 4 fingers to indicate the time, trying to focus the logistics they were discussing instead of Marinette's cute blush. "Nino? Sound good?" Nino nodded rapidly, his teeth gritted into a smile. "Cool! 4 o'clock then." Adrien confirmed.

"Four! 4 o'clock!" Marinette approved, nodding. Adrien then dragged Nino away, heading off toward the restaurant that they were planning to visit for the lunch period. As they walked, Nino hung his head, annoyed at himself. When they got to the restaurant, they ordered and took their food outside, scarfing it down in order to satisfy their teenage metabolisms.

"How did you do that, dude?" Nino asked incredulously as they were finishing their food.

"Like I said, just be yourself," Adrien said matter-of-factly, though cringing on the inside as he briefly acknowledged to himself just how fake he actually acted. He leaned back on the bench to drink his remaining soda.

"Right, sure. If I could be _yourself,_ " Nino concluded, pointing at the model. "Myself don't work that way."

"You're being ridiculous," Adrien informed his friend, as he took the last sip of his drink and threw the can towards the trash. "Of course you can! And when you're alone with Marinette at the zoo later on-"

"Woah! What do you mean alone with Marinette? Oh no, dude! You're coming with me! You can't leave me alone by myself, nuh-uh." Nino waved a chiding finger at his friend.

Adrien sighed, bringing up a hand to cradle his forehead. The model had hoped to get out of being Nino's wingman as soon as possible. It wasn't that he didn't want to help Nino, but his conflicting emotions about Marinette were making this hard. _She's just a friend,_ he reminded himself, for the umpteenth time that day. "No prob, Nino. What are friends for?" He smiled at his best friend, and they bumped fists again.

As they walked back to the school for afternoon classes, a plan started to form in his mind to help Nino talk "alone" with Marinette. _I can do this,_ he thought, trying to be confident in his ability to aid Nino. _She's just a friend._

The thought echoed through his mind for the rest of the day.

 _She's just a friend._

* * *

 **A/N: Adrien's just all over place, isn't he? Well I guess that's what happens when you're a teenager!**

 **On another note, I need to let you guys know that after this chapter I am planning on taking a _hopefully brief_ hiatus. I know, I know, *sigh* but I've been having huge writer's block for Chapter 14, _and_ I'm not completely happy with Chapter 12, _and_ I really need to build up a few more chapters before posting more. Sorry in advance.**

 **But luckily, I left you guys with this chapter before the hiatus happens. And it's sort of a gift chapter- I meant to post this yesterday in celebration of my birthday, but didn't get around to it. This chapter is larger than normal too; it's almost 3.5k words, when normally my chapters are 1.5-2.5k. So I hope you enjoyed the length of the chapter. Maybe it will tide you over until I can get another one up?**

 ***crickets chirp in the background***

 **Oh, who am I kidding? Bring on the complaints!**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	12. Chapter 12: The Zoo

CHAPTER 12: The Zoo

The time had come. Adrien watched through the bushes as Marinette said goodbye to Kim and Max, obviously waiting for him and Nino to show up. Alya wasn't with her, which Adrien found to be odd since the four of them had "planned" to meet up together. With her gone, it looked like Nino and Marinette would be alone. Adrien knew he would need to adapt his game plan without Alya there as a buffer.

Nino walked up to Marinette, and Adrien focused on what she was saying through Nino's earpiece. "Uh, hey Nino! Isn't Adrien supposed to be with you?" She glanced around his best friend, who merely shrugged in nervousness.

"Tell her you'll both be better off without me," Adrien responded.

Unfortunately, Nino copied his coaching almost word-for-word. "We'll be better off without me!" Adrien cringed and glanced at Marinette to see her reaction. She just looked confused. Okay, good- he could fix this!

Adrien felt a sudden movement on the top of his head as Plagg came out of hiding. "Ahhh, this trip is turning out to be more interesting than I thought! Turn up the volume!" Adrien merely sighed at his kwami and refocused on the situation at hand.

Nino was covering for his slip-up, telling Marinette that they didn't need him to hang out at the zoo. Adrien felt a bit of pride spike in his chest- Nino totally had this!

"Of course we do, you dum- oh, uh! I mean, wasn't he supposed to come? Don't you want to wait for him?" Nino proceeded to look more uncomfortable with each of her questions.

"Tell her you wanted to be alone with her!" Adrien cut in quickly, trying to push the conversation in a direction where Nino could ask Marinette out on a date.

"Not yet," Nino hissed at him. Adrien scowled in frustration.

"What was that?" Marinette asked, puzzled at Nino's words to Adrien.

"You're right!" Nino blurted, trying to save face. "We'll wait!"

Adrien nearly facepalmed. "No! What are you talking about? Don't wait for me! I'm NOT coming!"

But Nino ignored him, and Adrien sighed in exasperation. How was he supposed to help if Nino didn't listen to him? It was like Nino didn't even want to go on a date with her! Which was a ridiculous notion, because Marinette was amazing, and _super_ talented, and beautiful and-

 _And let's just stop that thought right there._ Adrien groaned and rubbed his temples as he watched Nino and Marinette awkwardly sit beside each other on the bench. _I really need to stop this. She's just a friend._ He ignored the tangled ball of emotions festering inside his chest, trying to focus on anything else instead. He plucked a heart-shaped leaf from the bush beside him and ripped it apart along its veins.

Adrien couldn't help but feel that it was a great metaphor for his life right now.

* * *

Ten minutes had passed, and Plagg was getting bored. At first the conversation had been interesting; hearing Adrien trying to coach Nino through his interactions with Marinette had certainly been amusing. But now nothing was happening, and the kwami was drifting off into cheese-filled daydreams. Could you blame him for wanting a little entertainment? Life tended to get boring when you were immortal…

"He's sure taking his time, huh?" Marinette voiced sadly. Plagg perked up, hoping that something new would occur. He didn't know how much more of this waiting he could stand! "He's not coming, is he?"

Analyzing her tone, the magical cat grinned. Right there! Right there was even more evidence of her obvious crush on his chosen. Adrien and Nino were oblivious idiots for not seeing it. The signs were right in front of them- her sadness at the model not coming, her stuttering whenever she was around him, the increase in clumsiness. Plagg shook his head, amused. This whole situation was in vain; Marinette would never go out with Nino because she admired his chosen instead!

"Repeat after me," Adrien instructed. The kwami narrowed his eyes, sensing a slight increase in the teen's heart rate, even from atop his head. "'Yes he is, but first I wanted to take this opportunity to…'" Nino repeated him, and Adrien continued: "'tell you that I love you Marinette.'"

Plagg knew that there were only two options from the sincerity in Adrien's words. Either he was the world's best method actor, or he still wasn't over her. Not that Adrien had ever admitted out loud that he liked Marinette in the first place… But come on! Plagg was over five thousand years old; he knew a lovesick face when he saw one. In the kwami's mind, Marinette's designation as "Lovebird #2" was well deserved. If only Adrien wasn't so blind to her affections; maybe he could've been happy with her. _It really is too bad that they aren't soulmates…_

A sudden thought came to Plagg as he watched Marinette from his position on Adrien's head. _Huh,_ _she kind of looks like…_ The kwami froze in realization. _No, there's no way. Tikki's influence would prevent that… or it would be just my luck._ Plagg buried his head into Adrien's hair, as if trying to bury his thoughts. If Marinette _was_ Ladybug, it would still be possible for her and Adrien to be soulmates and would explain why they hadn't changed into their soul animals yet! _UGH!_ There wasn't enough camembert in the world to prevent his oncoming headache. _Stupid soulmates! Why can't he just like cheese, like me? The world would be so much simpler!_ Nothing was confirmed of course, but Plagg knew he wouldn't be able to get this theory out of his head until he was proven wrong.

"WHAT?!"

Plagg snapped his head up, a wave of annoyance passing through him. He had just missed the whole show!

"Alya? Awesome!" Marinette exclaimed. Plagg struggled to piece together what had happened, but then everything cleared up at the girl's next sentence. "I can fix up a date for you guys!" The kwami could only cackle hysterically; Nino had somehow managed to tell Marinette that he had a crush on Alya instead! This was exactly the kind of entertainment he had been hoping for!

Adrien shushed him to be quiet, and Plagg tried to stifle his laughter in order to hear what was going on next. "Uh, did you say something?" Nino asked Marinette.

"Uh, I said, it'd be so sad if you didn't tell her." She smiled brightly at Nino, and he turned away from her, awkwardly rubbing his neck.

"Yeah…" the dark-skinned boy trailed off, and Plagg snickered. _Oh, the irony!_ Nothing would be able to wipe the grin off his face at the scene in front of him, nothing except for-

"He's coming!"

"Get outta here!"

 _Except for that…_ Plagg watched as two boys from Adrien's class sprinted past as a group of animals chased them. He gripped Adrien's hair as the teen ducked further into the bushes to stay out of sight. _Ugh, Hawkmoth!_

"We gotta do something," Adrien declared, and the cat god merely sighed in resignation. There went his entertainment for the day…

"Plagg, claws out!"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys, long time no see... er, post? *Sigh* I'll be honest with you guys. I've been hanging onto this chapter for a long time. I initially went on hiatus because I was having writer's block with it, but that issue got resolved not long after I went on hiatus. I have a few more chapters done, and I'm editing/perfecting Chapters 16 and 17... but, you know how life does that thing where it gets in the way of writing? Yeah... not that I haven't had time to write, but life always comes first. I'm writing this story for fun, not because it's my job, after all, so that's why it's been slow going.**

 **I wanted to get Chapters 16 and 17 completely done before I started posting again, but tonight I was laying in bed, thinking about how I really DO want to finish this story, and how I wish I was more motivated to work on it, because it DOES bring me joy to write and post this. And then I thought, _what the heck_ , let's just post it AND SEE IF I CAN GET SOME MOTIVATION GOING. Can I get an AMEN?**

 **So yeah, enjoy this short chapter. I will be posting the few chapters that are done soon enough, but in the meantime, enjoy me being back, I** **guess? No promises that I won't have to take another break in posting with how the writing has been going. (If you couldn't tell, I'm a little frustrated with myself, lol) But I promised I wouldn't abandon this story, nor do I want to!**

 **As always, I enjoy your comments.**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	13. Chapter 13: The Fox and the Turtle

CHAPTER 13: The Fox and the Turtle

When the akuma attacked, Alya briefly forgot her annoyance with Marinette in favor of pursuing a great scoop for her Ladyblog. Ladybug and Chat Noir were bound to show up soon!

She ran in the same direction the others had gone off in, seeing as that was where all the action had went. After a minute, she glimpsed Max and Nino being followed by a bunch of animals. But where were her favorite superheroes?

Suddenly, a good portion of the animals turned in another direction, no longer chasing the boys. _Are they being controlled by the akuma?_ Alya wondered, and debated whether or not to follow the herd. Only a gorilla was left following her classmates.

"Nino! Max!" she called. Both of them glanced back at the sound of her voice, but she unfortunately drew the attention of the gorilla also. It stopped, only to turn around and rush after her. _Oh crap!_ Alya quickly about-faced and sprinted off, a wave of fear coursing through her. There was no way she was going to let that gorilla catch her! It was already a dangerous animal; who knew what it would do under the akuma's influence.

She was going around the left side of a circular fountain, when she heard a yell sound from the other side. "Alya!"

 _Is that Nino?!_ Sure enough, a few seconds later he met up with her, having gone around the shorter side of the fountain to catch up and avoid the gorilla.

"What are you doing?" She gasped out. It made no sense to her; why would he run after her when she had accidentally distracted the gorilla from chasing him and Max? Now he was in danger again!

"What?" Nino exhaled, also out of breath. He glanced over at her briefly in concern, before focusing forward again. It was then that she was reminded of his supposed crush on her, and she suddenly understood why he had followed her.

She didn't quite know how to feel about that, especially with all the adrenaline running through her at the moment. Was she annoyed he had a crush on her? Flattered? A weird feeling sunk into her gut, making it hard to run as it combined with the cramp in her side.

As distracted as she was with her thoughts and dodging the gorilla behind her, she almost missed Ladybug and Chat Noir being chased by the rest of the animals. The next thirty seconds were all a blur as she went from being chased by the gorilla, to being grabbed by someone, and then being pushed into a cage with Nino. She stared, wide-eyed as Ladybug closed the door on them and ran off.

"Uh, hey, what's up?" Nino smiled awkwardly and pointed some finger guns at her. She groaned, the situation finally catching up to her; of course she would be stuck in a cage with Nino, who had a crush on her, as she missed yet another Ladybug scoop! Her head must have been in her hand for too long, because Nino spoke up again.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Just peachy," she muttered, avoiding his gaze and deciding to sit down against the glass wall of the cage. She figured they would be here for a while, at least until the akuma was beaten. She could hear Nino shuffling after her as she buried her head into her knees. Silence reigned between them for a bit, only interrupted by the noise Nino made when he plopped down next to her.

"Alya?" Nino called softly after about a minute, needing to break the awkwardness. He wondered what was going through her mind right now.

She sighed and raised her head from her knees, only to eye Nino as he stared back at her. "Why did you run after me?" she asked, voicing her concern from earlier now that she had her breath back.

"What?" A confused expression overtook his face at her question.

"Why did you run after me?" When he didn't answer immediately, she began to get worked up. "It was stupid- that gorilla could've hurt you! Why didn't you run away when you had the chance?"

Nino raised an eyebrow at her fierce words. "Oh really, now?" he questioned, sarcastically. "I could say the same thing to you! You always put yourself in danger when akumas attack! Ladybug and Chat Noir can't always save you, Alya!"

"And you can?!" She stood up, subconsciously trying to run away from their sudden conflict, even though she knew they were locked in this dumb cage together. Nino quickly got to his feet to follow her.

"That is not what I meant, and you know it! I ran after you because I wanted to make sure you were safe! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

"Uh-huh, friend, sure," she muttered, thinking of his crush on her. She continued to walk away from him, aiming for a different part of the wall to sit on, but he kept following her.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" He had obviously heard her mumbled words and was mildly offended by them.

"It's nothing, Nino," she said, her tone clipped. _Why am I so angry?_ She didn't understand where these feelings had suddenly come from. Before today, she hadn't reacted like this when her other friends had been in danger from an akuma. Worried? Of course! But angry?

Nino was slowly getting the message that she didn't want to talk right now but reached for her hand in a last-ditch effort to resolve the situation.

And that was when it happened.

In hindsight, Nino liked to equate the moment to the feeling you got when a bass guitar strummed a loud note and you could just _feel_ the vibrations go through your whole body. Except, instead of the music thrumming through him, it was magic- a force that strummed his heartstrings instead. It was like a new song had been written with his very soul.

For Alya, it was as if a truck had hit her. It felt like she had died and come back to life again, but suddenly everything she knew was drastically different.

They stared at each other in shock, motionless as the magic flowed through them and confirmed a reality that they had never given a thought to.

 _We're soulmates._

As Alya's brain restarted, she quickly slid her hand out of Nino's, both having gone limp in their collective realization. The teens immediately felt the loss of the spark between them, though a residual feeling of the magic remained in the background of their minds. Alya turned away, bringing the same hand that touched Nino's up to her mouth.

"Oh my god," she whispered, incapable of speaking much louder. "Oh my god."

"Dude," Nino breathed out in a big whoosh, as if he had been holding his breath. "This changes, well, _everything._ "

"No duh," Alya confirmed, feeling brave enough to look back at him. A heavy blush adorned her cheeks; she couldn't help but notice that Nino was a very pretty tomato color as well.

"Uh, no, I mean-" He looked away from her eyes, embarrassed, and took a steadying breath. "I mean, this changes a lot because this whole week I've been crushing on Marinette."

"What?!"

"Um, obviously not anymore, heh." They both smiled awkwardly before Nino continued, trying to explain. "Earlier, Adrien was being a great friend and tried to help me talk to her-"

"Oh," Alya interrupted him, a curious look in her eye. "Is that why he invited us all to the zoo?"

"Yeah, he even tried to coach me on what to say." Nino laughed as he pointed to the earpiece still in his ear.

"No way!" Alya snorted in disbelief. "I did the same thing for Mari!"

"Wait, what? Was she trying to talk to me?"

"No, she was trying to talk to-" Alya cut herself off instantly, alarmed that she had almost spilled her best friend's secret.

But Nino caught on immediately. "Woah, dude! Mari has a crush on-"

"Shhhh!" Alya threw her hand over his mouth. The electricity between them spiked again, and she briefly forgot what she was going to say, distracted. "Uh, you didn't hear that from me," she said weakly, removing her hand from his mouth. Had Nino's eyes always been that shade of golden brown?

"Alright, dude…" Nino trailed off, and kicked the ground awkwardly as another lull in the conversation hit.

"Do you, maybe, want to sit down again?" she offered, hitching a thumb at the cage wall behind her.

"Sure."

They sat down and the blogger opened up her phone to check for news on Ladybug and Chat Noir. She was able to find a broadcast detailing the animal outbreak, but so far there was no video footage of the superheroes. She sighed in frustration, and turned to Nino, who had been looking over her shoulder.

"No word on the akuma yet," she said, even though Nino had already gathered that on his own.

"Hey, would you maybe want to, uh- listen to some music?" He inquired, motioning to his own phone, which was open to his playlist.

"Uh, sure. Is it the music you made yourself?"

Nino nodded, a bit hesitant. The blush that adorned his cheeks only intensified when Alya boldly stole his headphones from around his neck to listen. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall as Nino pressed play on his most recent creation. _Will she like it?_ He thought, as he watched her head slightly rock to the beat.

The song soon ended, and she smiled as she slid the headphones off. He paused the next song before it started, wanting to know her opinion. His music was such a large part of his life that he didn't know if he could bear it if she hated it.

"Nino, that was amazing! Marinette said that you did awesome remixes, but I didn't know just how awesome they actually are!"

"There's a little bit of my own original stuff mixed in, too," he bragged, trying to appear casual even though the sound of his heartbeat was loud to his ears.

"Nice." Alya's smile got wider, and his blush intensified. "Can I listen to more?"

"O-of course!"

She put the headphones back on as he selected another song. They sat like that for another ten minutes or so, before Alya pulled off the headphones again at the end of the fourth song. "I'm sorry, is this boring for you?"

"Oh no, not at all, dude! I'm really glad you like my sound. It's interesting to watch your face when you listen." Seeing Alya's raised eyebrows, Nino realized what he just said. "Uh-"

Alya laughed good-naturedly. "No, it's alright," she reassured him. "I don't mind if you watch me. But maybe talking would be better?"

"Yeah…" Nino nodded, his eyes flitting away from her for a few seconds. "Could I have my headphones back then?"

"Sure," she replied, undoing them around her neck and putting them around his. In doing so, she had briefly touched his skin, jolting them both a bit. Curious, Alya laid her hand on top of his. The spark was less surprising this time, and both of them reveled in the feeling of touching one another, no longer quite as embarrassed by it.

"Have you ever thought of what you might turn into?" Alya asked after a moment.

"Hmm, what about a panther?" Nino gestured to the rest of the cage with his free hand and Alya chuckled.

"No, I can't see you as a panther; you're too chill for that."

"I meant, you could be a panther," he corrected. Alya gave him a look, and he realized the accidental sort-of innuendo. "Oh, no! I didn't mean it like that, dude!" He tried to explain his line of thinking, waving his free hand around. "I just thought a panther fit you well, because you can get pretty fierce about reporting for the Ladyblog and you always go after what you want. And, uh-"

"Thanks, Nino," she interrupted, once again beaming at him. He suddenly felt out of breath; how had he not seen before how beautiful her smile was?

The warmth between them increased as they stared at each other, but then abruptly became too much. Alya snatched her hand away from his, bewildered.

"Did you feel- ahh!" Alya's words were cut off as the sensation turned to fire in her bones. Green and orange light cast across the walls of the cage.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that her perception of the world was slightly different. The second thing she noticed, upon turning her head, was a turtle next to her. _Nino?_

 _Alya?_

For the second time that afternoon, they stared at each other in shock. After a moment, Alya hesitantly reached out a hand towards him. Something inside her was telling her to touch him again, but she did a double take when she saw her own limb. _I have paws! And fur! And- and… what am I?_

Alya glanced up from her body to see the turtle- er, Nino- still staring at her, motionless. _Nino?_ She tried to communicate with him, even waving a limb in front of his face, but received no response. _Hello?_ She prodded him with her paw in order to snap him out of it.

But as they touched once more, the magic flared inside them again. Luckily, it wasn't painful this time. When they became aware of their surroundings, her and Nino had both transformed back into their human selves and were kneeling on the ground, her hand on his shoulder.

"Wow," was all that Nino could say, his tone full of awe.

"Yeah." Alya's tone was just as distant.

"Um, you looked really nice as a fox, Alya," Nino blurted, before covering his own mouth in embarrassment.

Alya was astonished, both from the unexpected compliment and from the new info Nino provided her. "Wait! I'm a fox?"

"Um, yes?"

"You're a turtle!"

"A turtle?"

Nino's expression had turned into a look of utter befuddlement, and Alya simply lost it, overwhelmed from their situation. At first, he gave her a weird look in return, but couldn't help but join in with her laughter. A solid two minutes went by as they giggled and tried to get a hold of themselves. Alya gave a few more chuckles, trying to not look at Nino's face again- otherwise she would undoubtedly burst into giggles once more. She rested her head on his shoulder as she tried to calm down and he put a tentative arm around her, unsure of their new level of intimacy with one another- not that he wasn't enjoying it, though.

They stayed like that for a bit, only startled out of their comfortable moment when a rush of magical ladybugs enveloped them. They were whisked away to a bench outside of the cage, the panther having been returned to its exhibit by the magic.

"They must have beaten the akuma," Nino remarked. Alya looked around, still semi-wrapped in his one arm. "Sorry you didn't get much for your blog."

She glanced at him in surprise, having forgotten her earlier goal. "Oh, that's okay," she said, dismissing his concern. "There'll be more akumas. I just have to make sure I'm there next time!" Nino smiled at her determination, but briefly worried for her future safety. She continued, in a slightly teasing voice, "Plus, I think it was worth being locked in a cage with you for an hour."

His cheeks glowed as he grinned. "Uh, yeah, dude." Another awkward silence reigned between them.

"Come on!" Alya cried, standing up and taking his hand in an effort to move past the awkwardness. "Let's go find Marinette! I bet she's already home by now!"

Nino acquiesced, distracted by the tingling sensation between them. Looking at Alya with new eyes, he realized right then and there that he really wouldn't mind if this woman dragged him around for the rest of his life. His earlier words echoed in his ears. _This changes everything, indeed…_

* * *

 **A/N: I sense the first grumbles of deviating from canon...**

 **Alya and Nino don't touch in Lady Wifi. What are you talking about? I never saw _anything._**

 **FIGHT ME**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	14. Chapter 14: Ready or Not

CHAPTER 14: Ready or Not

Alya and Nino stepped into the Dupain-Cheng bakery, still holding hands. The shop was empty, so they were able to walk up directly to the counter.

"Hi, Mrs. Cheng!" Alya greeted, waving the hand that wasn't connected to Nino's.

"Hello, Alya." Sabine smiled at her daughter's best friend, subtly noticing the contact between the two teenagers. "What can I do for you, sweetie?"

Alya's expressed turned concerned. "Do you know if Marinette is here? We kind of lost her when the akuma attacked earlier."

"Oh, that's not good," Sabine replied, frowning a little. "I'm sure she's alright, though. Ladybug and Chat Noir just defeated the akuma a few minutes ago."

"We know," Alya confirmed, nodding her head. "So, Marinette isn't upstairs?"

"I don't believe so," Sabine glanced back to where the apartment stairs were and shook her head, deciding to explain further. "We were upstairs waiting for the attack to be over, so we would have been there if she came home. It's possible that she slipped by me in the last few minutes as I was reopening, but…" She trailed off, giving a little shrug to the teens.

Alya nodded in understanding. "I should probably just call her." She let go of Nino's hand to fish her phone out of her pocket and did a double take as she realized that she had been holding his hand for the last five minutes. The two teens locked eyes, each giving a sheepish smile to the other.

Alya glanced away first, feeling a little overheated. _This is so weird…_ She refocused on her phone to navigate to Marinette's contact, pressing on the call icon. _But maybe a good kind of weird?_

"Yo, Mrs. Cheng! Can I get a few cookies?" Alya looked up as the phone started ringing, motioning to Nino that she was going to take her call outside. He nodded and turned back to Sabine.

She had just walked out the front door of the bakery when Marinette answered.

"Listen, Alya, I'm sorry about earlier."

"Girl, it's alr-" she tried to respond, but Marinette cut her off.

"I should have never told Nino that I'd set up a date for you. I just wasn't thinking. But I'll explain everything to him, so don't worry. Promise! Do you forgive me?"

Alya could only laugh, especially when she saw Marinette appeared around the corner. _She doesn't even know the half of it…_

The girls put their phones away, and the bakery door opened as Nino walked out. He handed Alya a cookie, which she gratefully took. "Thanks, Nino."

Nino took out another cookie from his bag and offered it to the designer. "Do you want one, Marinette?"

Alya stood amused as her confused best friend turned to her and not-so-subtly whispered, "Uh, what's he doing here?"

"Ladybug locked us up in the same cage all afternoon," she explained, figuring that was the best way to describe why she was currently hanging out with Nino.

"It turns out, we have tons in common," Nino continued, giving Alya a knowing look. But he then turned back to Marinette. "You know Marinette, the girl I've got a crush on?"

"Oh! Yeah, Mmmhmm!" Marinette glanced at Alya before smiling at Nino.

"Actually, it was you," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Huh?" Marinette was taken aback by that, and glanced between the two in confusion.

"Or, that's what I thought. But after chilling with Alya that whole time-"

Alya quickly cut him off with a nudge, unsure as to how much he was planning to tell. "Yeah, well, we don't have to give her _all_ the deets, do we?"

"Oh, yeah." Nino smiled at her and raised his hand. "My bad." Alya was relieved as he went along with her wishes. They hadn't had the opportunity to talk about them being soulmates and who to even reveal that information to. Marinette was certainly someone she wanted to tell, but not right at this moment. Alya needed a little longer to get used to the idea that she even had a soulmate- let alone it being _Nino_ \- before she told anyone.

Focusing back on their conversation, the blogger remembered something she did want to share her best friend. "The funniest part of it was that Nino was being totally coached by Adrien at the zoo!"

Marinette turned wide-eyed at this, her hands fisting in front of her in excitement. "Huh?! Adrien was there?"

Alya chuckled. "Yep! L.O.L. right?"

Nino pointed a finger gun at Marinette. "Alya tells me you've been crushing on some dude." His eyebrows were raised knowingly, and Alya fought the sudden urge to punch him as Marinette gasped in horror.

"He doesn't know who it is! Pinky swear!" Alya hastily wrapped her own pinky around Marinette's and sighed. "Cause…. Cause I don't make decisions for other people," she sassed, slightly teasing her best friend for what happened earlier.

Nino piped up again, stepping forward as he did so. "But if you want, I could totally make it happen!" Alya immediately stomped on his foot, trying to get him to shut up. "That is, if I know the dude!"

"Nino!"

He gritted his teeth in a smile. "Fine. Pretend I never said anything. But if I can help!"

"Nino!" Alya couldn't believe him! Did he not understand that she needed him to drop it? If he said one more thing, she was really going to punch him!

Marinette giggled at them, putting a hand over her mouth to try and cover the sound. The blogger mock-glared at her best friend for a few seconds, before all three of them burst out laughing.

Suddenly, Alya's phone started ringing. "It's my mom," she told her friends, before answering. "Yeah?... Alright, mom… Yeah, I'll be there soon… Love ya too. Bye." She hung up and turned to the others. "I have to go home and babysit my sisters," she explained.

"Oh, that's alright! I need to get started on homework anyway," Marinette reassured. "Gotta stay on top of it with all these akuma attacks."

Nino nodded at that. "True, dude."

"See you guys tomorrow then?" Alya asked.

"Of course!"

The girls shared a hug, and Marinette gave Alya a look before going back inside her home. The blogger fretted a little, knowing that her best friend was curious about what happened between her and Nino. _What do I even tell her?_

She heard a throat being cleared and glanced over to see Nino staring at her. He looked away when they made eye contact and adjusted his hat.

"Um-"

"Uh-"

"You go first," Alya offered.

Nino stepped closer to take her hand. At once, she felt all her anxiety vanish at how right it felt to be touching him, even though the fluttering in her stomach remained. They smiled at each other, both sporting a bit of a blush.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to talk later tonight?"

"Yeah, I could do that." But then she shook her head, amending her previous statement. "Well, it would have to be after I'm done with watching my sisters, at least."

"That's fine. Whatever works, dude. Uh, no rush?" He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Yeah, we'll figure it out."

Nino nodded, and glanced down at their conjoined hands. She reluctantly removed her hand from his, knowing that she really needed to get home.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" Alya asked, stepping back in preparation to leave.

"Yeah."

She waved at him and turned towards the direction of her home. "See ya!"

"Yeah, bye!" He waved back, watching her go from his standing place in front of the bakery.

Just as she was about to turn the corner, a voice echoed her mind- a voice that she was bound to get more familiar with as time went on.

 _She is really something._

Her blush persisted all the way home.

 _[7:48pm] Nino: Hey, are you done watching your sisters yet?_

 _[8:16pm] Nino: Can you talk yet?_

 _[8:32pm] Nino: Alya?_

 _[8:53pm] Nino: If you can't talk tonight, that's fine. Message me when you're free._

Alya stared at the messages on her phone, anxiety and excitement pooling in her stomach. She had already been delaying their conversation for over an hour; she really did need to respond to him.

She had gotten his first text just as she was making sure her sisters had brushed their teeth properly. She put away her phone without responding, as she was still watching her sisters, after all. He would understand.

But then, after putting her sisters to bed shortly after eight, she received his second message. That was when she started to feel anxious. What did he actually want to talk about? Granted, they really did need to discuss some things- like who it was okay to tell about them being soulmates, for example- but she wasn't completely sure she was ready to talk about her feelings. In fact, she didn't even know what she _was_ feeling. It was extraordinary how one simple touch could change everything she knew about her life, irrevocably changing her reality. She knew deep down that from this point on she would always have Nino by her side.

Which was a scary thought itself. _Nino_ was the one who was her perfect match. _Nino_ was the one with the personality that complemented hers, like two puzzle pieces fitting together. _Nino_ was the one that was supposed to perfectly balance her in every way. _Nino_ was supposed to be the one person in her life that would be the easiest to love. _Oh, god._ If she wasn't freaking out before, she was definitely was now.

And then she got his third text, and she couldn't help but give in to all the worries that had sprouted up throughout the day after they parted. Like, what if he wanted them to be in a relationship right away? What if he straight up confessed his love for her? What if he used cheesy pickup lines on her? What if he was super romantic all of a sudden? What would she do?

 _I'm not ready for this._

She had holed herself up in her room, wanting to respond to him but not feeling brave enough to talk to him yet. It was unlike her since she usually tackled everything head-on. So, in trying to distract herself from her thoughts but unable to think about something _not_ soulmate related, she tried to figure out how to transform into her fox self again. She wasn't completely sure how to activate it, especially since the first time was through touch, but she knew from her own research online that she didn't have to touch her soulmate every time to transform into her soul animal.

What she hadn't realized was that there was a learning curve to transforming. She tried thinking about Nino to trigger it, but quickly gave up on that idea as it only led her back to the worries (and the boy) she was trying to distract herself from. Then she thought about how she felt as a fox, and imagined fur forming on her arms and legs, but that didn't work either. Finally, she tried to tap into the spark she remembered feeling during the times she had touched Nino. She felt something stir inside her, like a string going taut, and her skin electrified with a current only she could feel. But before anything happened, she was startled out of her meditation by her phone buzzing a fourth time.

 _[8:53pm] Nino: If you can't talk tonight, that's fine. Message me when you're free._

And that was when the guilt punched her in the face. She was straight up avoiding him at this point. She was avoiding her _soulmate_. Ugh, _what was wrong with her?_

She took a deep breath and typed out a quick message, pressing send before she could chicken out of it.

 _[8:59pm] Alya: Sorry, I'm free now._

She saw he had read the message and held her breath as she waited for him to respond. What would he say?

She definitely wasn't prepared for him to call her over the video-chat feature.

 _I'm not ready for this,_ she thought as her heart pounded in her chest.

 _I'm not ready for this._

 _[8:59pm] Alya: Sorry, I'm free now._

Nino breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that he had done something wrong when she hadn't responded to his texts. She must have just gotten caught up with her sisters, or homework, or something.

He quickly navigated to the call feature on his phone and selected the video chat option, figuring it would be better if they talked face to face for this conversation. They were going to talk about soulmate stuff, after all. Plus, he was hoping to ask her to lunch tomorrow, if only to get to know her better. Even though the thought of asking her made him slightly nervous, it was amazing how much more confident he felt now that he knew she was his soulmate- a stark difference from earlier today with Marinette. If they were meant to be together, he couldn't mess this up too badly, right?

It took Alya a few rings to answer. When she did, Nino saw a flash of a worried frown on her face before she beamed widely at him. "Hi, Nino!"

He smiled in return, feeling a wave of calmness wash over him. "Hey, Alya! How was watching your sisters?"

"Oh," she looked surprised for a second, before her shoulders relaxed. "It was the same as always. Sometimes they can be little monsters, but they were better tonight."

"That's good." Nino chuckled a little, before continuing their conversation. "So, I wanted to ask you-"

He cut himself off as her side of the screen jumbled around. It stilled for a second on a black screen, before flashing around a bit more and returning to Alya's face.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her face a bit red. "My phone slipped from my hand."

"No worries, dude. Anyway-"

"Hey! Have you tried turning back into a turtle yet?"

He was silent for a second, processing her sudden question. "Uh, no?"

"Oh! Well, you should try! I think I almost had it earlier. Maybe it'll be easier when we're together?"

Nino nodded, briefly considering it in his head. "Yeah, probably. Speaking of being together, I was wondering if you'd like to-"

Alya's face turned panicked, and the video turned to face another part of her room. "Yeah, Mom?" he heard Alya ask, her voice uneasy. Figuring her mother wanted something from her, he strained to hear what was going on, but only heard silence.

When the screen returned to Alya's face, she had a hard time looking at him. "Is everything okay, Alya?"

"Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine!" Her voice was pitched a bit higher than normal, and Nino narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Are you sure? You're not really acting like yourself," he observed. He could see her floundering for an answer and decided to ask another question. "What did your mom want?"

"Uh, she wanted to, uh-"

He watched Alya jump as what sounded like a door opened on her side of the screen. "Alya, honey, how were you sisters tonight?"

The screen moved to show the top half of Alya's face as she lowered her phone in the air. "They were fine, Mom."

"That's good. Are you talking with a friend?"

Alya's eyes turned back to the screen, a blush reddening her cheeks before she looked back to her mother. "Yeah, I am."

"Well, finish up in the next few minutes. It's a school night. Did you get all your homework done?"

"Uh, most of it."

"Make sure you get it done before you go to bed tonight."

"Of course, Mom."

"Okay, well I love you and goodnight, honey. Tell your friend hi for me!" Nino heard Alya's mom giggle a bit, watching as Alya adjusted the screen to show her whole face again.

"Night, mom," she said distractedly, and Nino heard the door close in the background behind her. Silence reigned between them for a few seconds before Nino took pity on her and spoke.

"Your mom seems nice." He frowned at her as another thought came to him, though. "She wasn't really there the first time, was she?"

She visibly cringed, and Nino knew he was right. "No," she responded, her voice quiet, and her cheeks flushed.

"Alya," he said, his voice taking on a firmer tone. "What is going on? You've been acting nervous the whole time we've been talking and you… you lied to me." He paused, feeling one of his own worries float to the surface. "Is it because you don't want me as your soulmate?"

"NO! Nothing like that. Gosh, I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous… I'm not, like, disappointed it's you, okay? It's just that this is so weird and strange and I don't even know what I'm feeling and-"

"Alya." He held up a hand to try and catch her attention. "Breathe."

"I'm sorry," she said again, her eyes scrunched closed and her head bent low.

"Dude, it's alright," he tried to reassure her. "I understand, okay? This is, uh, scary for me, too."

He watched her nod on the screen, her head still bent down. He hated seeing her like this, so different from the confident Alya he was used to interacting with. What was going through her head?

She looked up at him briefly before looking away again. "I need to go."

"Alya-"

"I'll talk with you tomorrow, okay?" She stared at him, a bit of her normal stubbornness shining through.

He paused, a little irritated and unwilling to let it go. But seeing the pleading in her eyes, he relented. "Alright." If she wasn't ready to talk about this stuff, then he could give her space. He could be patient.

She gave him a forced smile. "Thanks Nino. I'll see you at school."

He sighed. "Yeah, dude."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Alya ended the chat from her side. Nino just stared at his screen, the end-call sound echoing in his head. _That was not how I expected our conversation to go…_

But if she needed time, he was willing to provide it. They could take it as slow as she wanted; he needed time to process his own emotions about all this soulmate stuff too. Everything had changed in an instant and they were both still getting used to it. It would all be fine eventually.

 _Yeah, it'll be fine,_ Nino reassured himself. He plugged his headphones into his phone and turned on some music. _It'll be fine._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **We're going to take a quick DJ Wifi detour with this story, which I really enjoyed writing even though it wasn't originally planned. Luckily, it's just for a few chapters, so don't worry, we will return to our normally scheduled Love Square soon!**

 **Meanwhile... *rubs hands together excitedly and goes to type Chapter 19* *pauses* IDEAS. WHY. WON'T. YOU. COME. UGGGHHH *proceeds to slam head against metaphorical wall repeatedly***

 **Wish me luck, guys. And thanks for your reviews and support!**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	15. Chapter 15: Dreams and Decisions

CHAPTER 15: Dreams and Decisions

"Well, that's weird. We didn't have to use this." Ladybug held up the spotted car jack, confused since she had always needed her Lucky Charm for some reason or another. "What does it mean?"

"Well, I guess that only means we rock as a team!" Chat strode forward to get the akuma's bracelet, only to be pulled back by his tail when the T-Rex's large jaws snapped at him. _Woah, that was a close one!_

"I know what to do," His Lady's voice rang out determinedly, and she suddenly sprinted towards the dinosaur.

"Ladybug!" _What is she doing?!_ Adrien watched in disbelief as she jumped- literally jumped- into the akuma's mouth.

"NO!"

 _No no no no no!_ It was like time had slowed down, even though his heart was pumping twice as fast. _This can't be happening._ He angrily extended his baton, twirling it around aggressively, even as the despair threatened to overwhelm him. "You're so gonna pay for this!"

A spark of hope fluttered though him when the T-Rex's mouth started to open, only to be utterly squashed at what he heard next.

"CHAT!" Ladybug's scream tore at his very soul. He stared in shock as she struggled to lift the jaws of the T-Rex with one of her hands. "HELP ME!"

 _Do something!_ He screamed at himself. _Save her!_

With horror, he watched as the T-Rex opened its mouth even further, only for it to slam its mouth closed with a sickening squelch. A bloody hand, wrapped in red and black, fell to the ground.

 _NOOOOOOOO!_

Adrien jolted awake with a start, his heart pounding and sweat covering his body. Overcome with emotion, he breathed in and out in heavy bursts. The familiar sight of his alarm clock, upon becoming aware of his surroundings, served to ground him to reality.

 _She's okay, it was just a dream. She's okay, it was just a dream._ He continued to repeat the mantra to himself, clutching at one of his pillows until the terror running through his veins vanished. When he felt mostly calm, he opened his eyes again, only to actually register the hour on his alarm clock this time: 5:37am. It was about twenty minutes until he had to get up.

Adrien ran a hand through his hair and sighed, knowing he wouldn't get any more sleep. He ignored the flashbacks to his dream, trying to think about anything else instead as he continued to lie in bed. He couldn't help letting his mind remain on Ladybug though…

 _Her victorious grin as they pounded their fists together after a fight…_

 _When she rolled her eyes and groaned at his puns, fighting off a smile…_

 _Her beauty as she soared through the air on her yoyo string, him following close behind…_

 _The inspiration he felt that first time she stood up to Hawkmoth with resolute determination…_

 _The gears turning in her mind as she worked out a plan to defeat the akuma…_

 _Yesterday, as they were hiding from the akuma, how wonderful she had smelled..._

A tingle ran down his spine as he lingered on that last one. Even though the air freshener had masked her scent somewhat, he was still able to catch a whiff of vanilla and something else that was distinctly _Ladybug_. He sighed, this time in longing, allowing himself to indulge in his thoughts for a bit longer as his nightmare was almost forgotten about.

Unfortunately, his alarm interrupted his blissful state. Scowling, Adrien leaned over to slam his hand down on it and turn off the offending noise. He turned to lie on his back, picking up a pillow and pressing it to his face in an effort to avoid the world. He did _not_ want to get up.

He heard a yawn come from the other side of the room. _3…2…1…_

"Adrien! Time to get up! I need my cheese!"

The teen simply ignored his cat-god friend, staying in his comfortable position for a moment before forcing himself to get out of bed. As he padded over to the mini fridge to grab the cheese, a thought struck him.

"Plagg, cats have an enhanced sense of smell, right?"

His kwami gave an amused huff from where he had landed on Adrien's desk. "Dumb question, kid. But why are you asking?"

"Well, when I sniffed Ladybug yesterday she smelled like-"

"Wait, you sniffed Ladybug?"

Adrien blushed at his kwami's insinuating tone. "It's not as weird as it sounds! Anyway-"

"Kid, it is just as weird as it sounds, and unless you are about to tell me that she smelled like perfectly aged camembert, nothing will stop me from laughing at you. Actually, we're just going to assume that whatever you were planning to say next was ridiculously sappy and I'll just start laughing now."

The kwami's cackling rang about the room, and Adrien pouted, wishing Plagg would actually take him seriously. "I was just going to say that she smelled like cookies," he retorted.

"Well, you were in a bakery. Marinette's bakery, to be exact."

Adrien combed a hand through his hair in annoyance at what his kwami was implying. "Plagg, I told you already. Marinette's just a friend. And-" Adrien cut off, unsure if he wanted to say what was on his mind.

"And?"

"And… I think I love Ladybug."

Saying it aloud only confirmed it further for Adrien, as he had been pondering his feelings for the spotted heroine ever since the akuma yesterday. His dream this morning only served to remind him just how utterly terrified he was to lose her, and not just because she was the only one that could restore the city after an akuma attack. He considered her one of his best friends, his partner, someone he desperately needed in his life. After yesterday, he was no longer afraid to admit that he was still had feelings for her, even after his heart was put through the ringer from the recent "false-soulmate-alarm" with Marinette.

"Bleh!" Plagg stuck out his tongue in an exaggerated grimace at Adrien's admission, before flying up to steal the camembert wheel the teen had in his hand. "You know, I didn't expect you to do a literal one-eighty in just a few hours. Swapping out Lovebird #2 for Lovebird #1, _again_?"

Adrien scoffed. "Stop it, Plagg. You know I've loved Ladybug from the beginning."

"Yeah, right. And Marinette was just a passing fancy."

Slightly irritated, Adrien turned towards his bathroom to get ready for the day. "Whatever, Plagg. Just eat your cheese."

"Gladly," Plagg huffed, taking a large bite of his wheel and flying over to his trash bin.

The minutes passed as Adrien went through his skincare routine and styled his hair. Plagg finished off his cheese, now in a better mood after eating his favorite delicacy. The kwami floated over to the open bathroom door, deciding to speak what was on his mind.

"You know, kid, the chances of Ladybug being your soulmate are even less than Marinette being your soulmate." _Unless Marinette_ _ **is**_ _Ladybug…_ Plagg couldn't help but add on in his head, remembering his theory from the previous day.

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm just saying. You've been so focused on soulmates recently…"

"Well, I've kind of given up on the idea of ever finding mine, so it doesn't matter if Ladybug isn't my soulmate."

Plagg sighed, aware of the bitterness creeping into his chosen's tone. "What about Marinette?"

"What about her?" Plagg gave him a look, and Adrien was silent for a moment as he struggled with his inner feelings. "She's just a friend. I… I love Ladybug, so she has to just be a friend. Plus, Nino has a crush on her, and I can't just abandon him."

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, kid." Plagg murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. "Okay. Do what you want. I'm done with all this lovey-dovey crap." He flew back into Adrien's room and proceeded to raid the mini fridge again.

The teen sighed as he pulled a final hair into place, going over his mental checklist for the day. _1) Don't forget to print off the French History research essay before going to school. 2) Make new plans to help Nino talk to Marinette. 3) If an akuma comes, deal with it quickly, but also flirt with Ladybug. 4) Small photoshoot this afternoon after fencing. Oh, and 5) treat Marinette like a friend._

Adrien walked out of his room feeling more prepared to face life than he had in weeks.

* * *

 **A/N: Brief interlude back to #oblivious #indenial #sunshinechild Adrien before we continue on with some more DJ Wifi.**

 **Also, I can't help but laugh evilly at the first part of this chapter; literally every time I read it I get a dumb giddy smile on my face. Sorry if I gave you a heart attack with that one. ;) *cackles***

 **As always, thanks for reading!**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	16. Chapter 16: Telling the Friends Part 1

CHAPTER 16: Telling the Friends Part 1

"Hey."

"Hi."

Nino and Alya stared at each other on the steps of the school. Not many people were there yet, seeing as both of them had arrived earlier than normal. Nino shifted awkwardly, while Alya looked down at her feet. Heat welled up in both their faces.

"Uh, can I give you a hug?" Nino asked, a bit subdued.

Like a snap of the fingers, the worried expression dissipated from Alya's face. She let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "Sure."

The tension between them flared up again as they moved towards each other but disappeared at the brief brush of their hands. The feeling of belonging they both felt caused them to hug each other tighter in reassurance, Alya going so far as to push her cheek against the side of his chin.

"I'm sorry about last night," she offered quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Nino moved his face away from hers, and looked at her with a small, fond smile. "It's okay, I understand."

Her eyes turned a bit glassy in relief as she smiled back with more confidence. "Thank you."

He was about to reply, when a cough was heard from behind Alya. The two sprung apart, neither wanting to broadcast their new soulmate status yet.

"Hey, Nino," said Adrien, his eyebrow raised in confusion at the scene before him. "Alya."

Nino opened his mouth to try and explain but was unable to find words. The last time he saw Adrien, his friend was trying to help him get a date with Marinette. _Oh, how things have changed…_

"Well, good morning to you too, Adrien!" Alya cut in, maybe a bit too excitedly. "I gotta go make sure Mari isn't late today, so I'll see you guys later, 'kay?" She turned to leave, but then doubled back to lightly punch Nino's shoulder.

 _W- can talk lat-r… -kay?_ She nodded at him, and he nodded back, a bit dumbfounded. Did he just hear her voice in his head?

"-ude! Dude! Nino!" A snap in front of Nino's face made him jump.

"Yeah?"

"What the heck was that with Alya?"

Nino was silent before deciding to tell the truth… or at least part of the truth. "Dude, I don't even know." After all, it's not like he and Alya had talked in depth about it yet.

Adrien just stared at him, trying to decide if he should push for more or not. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to that interaction than Nino wanted to admit. But seeing Nino's uncomfortable expression, he decided to drop it in favor of another thing he needed to talk to Nino about.

"Hey, so I know yesterday didn't quite work out the way we planned. Do you want to try something else?"

"Yesterday?"

"You know, at the zoo, with Marinette?" Adrien once again searched Nino's expression with concern.

"Oh! Ohhh, dude!" The DJ smiled sheepishly. "Um, thanks for the help, man, but I don't think I'm interested in Marinette anymore."

"What? But Nino, that was only yesterday!"

"I know, but- er, stuff happened?"

"Stuff happened?" Adrien's tone was incredulous.

"Yes! Stuff happened! And I don't know how to deal with it!" Nino berated himself in his head for saying that last outburst. _Of course,_ _ **now**_ _is the perfect time for you to finally freak out about all this…_

Adrien put a hand on Nino's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "What happened?"

"I… Alya…" Nino winced. "I can't talk about it yet."

Adrien's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? What's going on between you and Alya? Did she threaten you for wanting to date Marinette or something?"

"No! No, nothing like that!" Nino sighed and stepped back, Adrien's hand falling from his shoulder as he did so. "Sorry, man. I just… I need some time to figure it out for myself, if that's all right. I promise to tell you about it soon."

Adrien adjusted his bag's strap on his shoulder in a shrugging motion. "Okay, but you make me worry about you, Nino."

Nino chuckled and adjusted his hat in a nervous habit. "Thanks, bro, but I think I'll be fine. Just a little confused for the time being." _Understatement of the year…_ Nino thought, as he held out his fist to his best friend in their customary greeting. Adrien smiled, nodded, and bumped their knuckles together.

As they started walking into the school, Adrien asked, "So, did you get that research essay done?"

Nino stopped dead in his tracks. "Crap, I knew I was forgetting something!"

* * *

"Alya, I can't believe you made me run!" The girls plopped onto their normal bench, panting a little.

"Hey, at least we aren't late!" The blogger glanced at the clock. Luckily, they had two minutes to spare.

"But Alya, my hair…" Marinette ran her fingers through her loose locks, frowning in displeasure when her hand stopped from the few tangles in it.

Alya rummaged in her backpack for a second, before motioning Marinette closer. "Come here, girl." Alya carefully ran a brush through her best friend's hair, while Marinette fidgeted with the hair ties on her wrist.

"There, girl, now you're all goo-"

 _Alya?_

"Yes, Nino?" she asked, turning to her soulmate.

A moment of silence passed between the four friends. Alya slowly registered Nino's surprised expression and Marinette and Adrien's apparent confusion.

"Uh… Alya, Nino didn't say anything…" Marinette trailed off, securing the hair band around her second pigtail.

Alya's brow furrowed. "Really?" She glanced at Nino again. "Wait…" _Did you speak to me in your mind?_

Nino nodded, and Alya couldn't help the way her mouth dropped open a bit in surprise. _We_ _ **do**_ _have telepathy… Oh my gosh!_

 _I can still hear you, dude._ Nino held her gaze for a moment before turning forward in his seat with the ringing of the school bell. Alya groaned, embarrassed that he had heard her internal freak out.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Marinette whispered to her as Mrs. Bustier started class.

"Later," was all she whispered back.

Alya knew she needed time to process all of this before telling Marinette anything. She wanted to talk with Nino about everything in more depth, and she was also still adjusting to the fact that she even had a soulmate. Sure, she wasn't quite freaking out like she had been last night, but even just the last few minutes had proved there was still new soulmate related things to discover- including _telepathy,_ apparently. Alya had read somewhere once that most soulmates were able to communicate with their minds, though it seemed to vary couple to couple. When she was younger, she thought telepathy would be really cool to have, even if it was just with one person. But telepathy had always seemed more like science fiction than something _real._

Alya buried her face in her hands. _This is actually happening._

 _Hey, we'll be okay._ Alya couldn't see Nino's face, but felt the equivalent of a comforting expression being sent her way.

 _I know_ , she responded, looking up and acting like she was paying attention to Mrs. Bustier. _Just a little overwhelmed here._

Nino's voice sounded a little shaky when he responded. _Yeah, same, dude._

She breathed a sigh of relief, dwelling on the reminder that she wasn't the only one going through this. Nino was riding this rollercoaster with her too, which was a weirdly comforting thought.

 _Hey, do you wanna-_

As Nino's voice suddenly cut out, Alya focused her eyes on him out of concern, but nothing seemed to be wrong with him. Yet, she could no longer hear him in her head. _What the heck?_

 _-ya! Al—a! Alya!_ His voice started to come to her in bits and pieces, getting clearer over time as she concentrated.

 _Nino, can you hear me?_

 _There you are! Why weren't you responding?_

 _You, like, cut out or something._

 _Weird._

 _Yeah, not sure what happened there. For a while it felt like I could only hear half of what you were saying._

 _Hmm, maybe it's like tuning into a radio station?_

She snorted out loud, ignoring suspicious glances from both Marinette and the teacher. _Only you would think of it like that. But I suppose so. We probably just need to practice more._

 _Well, what better time to practice than now?_

Alya couldn't help but smile as she heard the hopeful tone of Nino's voice. _Sure, DJ, we can talk for a while._ _I'll just get today's notes from Marinette._

Nino chuckled over the link and there was a comfortable silence between the two.

 _So..._ Nino thought, _who do you think we should tell?_

 _Good question._ Alya hummed to herself in thought, flipping her pencil in her hand. _Well, I know I need to tell my family. And I'll probably tell Marinette at some point. But those are the only people I feel like I need to actively tell._

 _Yeah, same for me, but my family and probably Adrien. Are you alright with that?_ Nino turned back to briefly look at Alya.

 _Of course! He's your best friend!_ Alya reassured, nodding to him. _Speaking of Sunshine, what did he think about this morning?_

 _You mean our hug?_ At Alya's mental assertion, he continued. _He knows something is going on between us, but doesn't know what. I told him I would let him know when I was ready. Er, when we're ready._

Alya nodded to herself, only to get distracted as a piece of paper slid across the table from Marinette: _**What is going on?**_

 _ **I'll tell you later,**_ Alya wrote back.

 _Well,_ she thought to Nino, _if Marinette's and Adrien's reactions to us this morning are anything to go by, we should probably tell them soon. Maybe even today._

 _Today?_ Nino asked, a bit hesitantly.

 _If you're okay with that._ Ayla paused nervously, only to plow forward with her reasoning. _I mean, I get not wanting to tell them until we get more of a feel for this, but I honestly don't know how long I can keep this from my girl here,_ she said, mentally pointing to Marinette beside her. _Plus, I would rather tell them than them accidentally finding out. While a large part of me wants to keep this to ourselves for a while, I also feel weird keeping secrets, especially if they both already suspect something is up. I know if Marinette was acting this way with a guy, I would be relentlessly asking her questions about it._

 _Yeah, I see where you are coming from. When do you think would be the best time to tell them?_

 _Maybe during lunch?_ Alya suggested. _I know, at break I'll go to the bathroom with Mari and ask if she's free to eat lunch together. Can you ask Adrien if he's free?_

Nino nodded, his voice brightening. _I can do that. Then we can surprise them by saying that we're all eating together_. _Yeah?_

Alya felt a grin come to her face at his sudden playful vibe. _They won't even know what hit them._

* * *

"Alright, class! Let's have our five-minute break, and then I'll talk about our new group project!"

Alya stood up to stretch with the announcement of the break. "Hey girl, wanna run to the restroom with me?"

"Sure, Alya!"

As they walked down the hall together, Alya could practically see the gears turning in Marinette's head. Luckily, they were the only two in the hallway; maybe having their conversation here would be better than a potentially occupied restroom?

Alya stopped suddenly, turning to her best friend with a raised eyebrow. "Mari, I know that look. Let me guess, you're wondering what is going on between Nino and I, right?"

Marinette gaped for a moment, then nodded, scowling a bit. "Alya, you better not be involving Nino in your schemes to help me with Adrien…"

Alya stared at her for a second in surprise before promptly bursting out into laughter. "Ooohhh, that is _so_ not what this is about, but that's not a bad idea," Alya responded, a mischievous smile plastered on her face. "Too bad Nino doesn't know!"

"Uh huh," Marinette dead-panned, leaning against the hallway wall. "Nino 'doesn't know' I have a crippling crush on Adrien Agreste." She put up finger quotes to emphasize her sarcasm.

Alya winced as the guilt inside her resurged, and decided Marinette needed to know the truth. "Okay, fine. I didn't outright tell him, but he kind of guessed when we were talking about using the headsets yesterday."

"Alya!" Marinette slid down the wall she was leaning against and hid her face in her hands.

The blogger crouched down in front of her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry girl, but I couldn't stop him from knowing. I'm pretty sure he isn't going to tell Adrien anyway; I'll make sure of it. I promise everything is going to be fine."

Marinette was silent for a few seconds before she peeked her head out of her hands. "Really?"

Alya merely nodded. "Really-really."

"Okay…" Alya stood up and offered Marinette a hand up, which she accepted. "So, if Nino isn't helping you plan ways for me to embarrass myself in front of Adrien again, what is actually going on between you two?"

Alya sighed, about to respond, but then heard Nino in her head. _Adrien says he's good to do lunch. What did Marinette say? You guys might want to get back soon._

"I'm getting there," Alya reassured Marinette. "On a side-tangent, did you actually need to use the restroom?"

"What?" Marinette was startled a bit at the abrupt change in subject, but answered nonetheless. "Uh, no."

"Good, neither did I. Let's go back to class." And with that, Alya took Marinette's arm and started dragging her back down the hallway.

After a few seconds, Marinette pulled Alya back, twisting out of her grip. "Wait! You never answered my question!" she accused, hand settling on her hip. "What is going on, and why won't you tell me?"

Alya deflated at Marinette's tone, and uncharacteristically wrung her hands together in a nervous tick as she looked away from her friend. Was she really ready to tell Marinette? "I promise I'll tell you soon. I just… there's not enough time right now. How about I tell you at lunch?"

Marinette seemed to be vaguely placated by her offer. "Fine, as long as you actually tell me!" She then stuck her tongue out at Alya, intentionally being silly.

Alya laughed, relieved to know that their friendship was fine. She hip-checked Marinette playfully before walking back down the hall. "Trust me, girl, I don't think I could keep this from you."

Thirty seconds later they were walking back into the classroom, and Alya nodded subtly at Nino before sitting down on her bench with Marinette.

 _3…2…1…_ Nino turned around in his seat to face the girls. "Hey Alya, we still good for lunch today?" He winked at her not-so-subtly, which both Adrien and Marinette caught sight of.

"Yes, of course!" Alya tried to hold off a smirk, but couldn't help herself. This was so much fun, having a partner in crime. "Adrien, will you be joining us?"

Adrien turned in his seat to face the girls more, before raising an eyebrow at Nino. "Yeah, I'll be there. What about you Marinette?"

"Uh- yeah! I mean, yes! Yes, I'll there be. I mean! I'll be there! Yes." Marinette breathed out an anxious breath while nodding rapidly at the person of her affections. Alya could only lovingly shake her head at her friend.

"Great! I'm looking forward to having lunch as a group, then!" Adrien beamed at Marinette, before turning around in his seat again.

Alya suddenly heard Nino's laugh in her head. _Oh, wow, dude. How did I not see it before?_

 _Because guys are oblivious._ She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to argue with her.

He shook his head, a smile on his face as he looked up at her. _Well, then I'm glad I'm no longer oblivious._

Ayla could feel a blush on her cheeks. _Heh, me too._

* * *

The four friends walked into the cafeteria together, heading towards an empty four-person table. Alya and Nino quickly sat together on one side of the table, leaving Adrien and a nervous Marinette to take up the other half.

Alya hid a smile, laughing in her head at the subtle glare Marinette leveled at her for making her sit next to Adrien.

 _Jeez,_ Nino said, observing Marinette in a whole new light, _it's like my eyes have been opened to a new reality. How did I never notice before?_ He turned to look at Alya.

She snorted out loud, amusement clear on her face. _I told you, guys are oblivious. And Mr. Sunshine over here the most oblivious one of them all._ She nodded towards Adrien, who she noticed had just picked up a sandwich. However, Adrien wasn't eating yet, instead staring at them with his eyes narrowed.

"Okay, seriously, what is up with you two?"

Adrien's question seemed to shock Nino and Alya out of their little bubble, as both of them realized there had been near silence around the table ever since they sat down.

"Yeah, Alya, you promised you would tell me what's going on!" Marinette crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair to eye her friend with scrutiny.

Alya and Nino looked nervously to each other at the same time, unsure exactly how to respond. _Uh, I'll tell them,_ Nino said after a moment, and turned to address their friends.

"Umm, I don't really know how to say this…"

Alya recognized his faltering and laid a hand over his to calm him. The soulmate bond zinged through them at the touch. _Don't worry,_ Alya murmured comfortingly. _I got this._

"We're soulmates," Alya said, keeping it as simple as possible. "Me and Nino. Uh, Nino and I." She cringed a bit at her awkward words. "Yeah."

"Yeah," Nino echoed. He squeezed her hand in gratitude.

 _Here we go._

* * *

 **A/N: Cliffhanger? Lol, you'll get to see Marinette and Adrien's reactions next chapter!**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	17. Chapter 17: Telling the Friends Part 2

CHAPTER 17: Telling the Friends Part 2

"Okay, seriously, what is up with you two?"

Adrien was suspicious. Five minutes of lunch had already passed and their group had barely had a civil conversation. The silence between them four of them was bizarre. Marinette and Alya were often going off on one topic or another, and it wasn't like he and Nino didn't chime in either. But Marinette seemed nervous and focused on Alya, and the blogger was in some sort of face-making contest with Nino if their facial expressions were anything to go by.

"Yeah, Alya, you promised you would tell me what's going on!" Marinette cried, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Adrien felt a little more justified in his questioning after seeing that Marinette was on his side too. _Glad I'm not the only one that noticed something off about those two…_

He watched as Alya and Nino glanced nervously at each other, communicating without words for a moment before turning back to them.

Nino was the first to open his mouth. "Umm, I don't really know how to say this…"

Alya suddenly laid her hand on top of Nino's, and they smiled at each other, though a touch awkwardly. Adrien only became more confused at the apparent intimacy between the two. It was just like that hug he had witnessed between them this morning.

"We're soulmates," Alya said, coming right out with it. "Me and Nino. Uh, Nino and I." She paused awkwardly after correcting her own grammar. "Yeah."

"Yeah," Nino echoed, shrugging.

Adrien sat there, dumbfounded for a moment as multiple emotions overtook him. "What?"

"Well," Alya hastily started to explain, "Ladybug locked us in a cage together yesterday during the akuma attack, and-"

" _That's_ what you've been hiding?!" Marinette squealed in her seat, jumping up and going around the table to glomp Alya into a hug. "Tell me everything!"

The girls laughed, and the tension broke. Adrien pushed down the emotion he recognized as jealousy and turned to smile at his best friend instead. "Dude, uh, congrats?" He offered a closed hand, and Nino happily completed the fist-bump.

"Thanks, dude. Guessing our conversation this morning makes a lot more sense now, huh?" They both chuckled. Adrien felt a burden fall off his chest, grateful he no longer had to worry about the source of Nino's weird behavior today.

"Ahh! Tell me everything!" Marinette grilled Alya, as she plopped back down into her seat. "Did it happen when you got locked in the cage together?"

Alya took Marinette's enthusiasm in stride. "Yeah. It's kind of funny, I guess. We were in the cage and got into a small fight-"

"You mean, you were being stubborn," Nino interrupted.

"Hey!" They laughed at Alya's indignation as she lightly punched Nino's arm.

He continued, rubbing the appendage in protest. "Yeah, we got into a fight and I remember reaching for her hand, and then it was like everything just… clicked, you know?" At the blank expressions on his friends' faces, he backtracked a little. "Well, I mean, you don't _know_ , but yeah. That was when we knew for sure." Alya nodded along to his explanation.

"When did you turn into your soul animals?" Marinette demanded, excitedly.

The newly deemed soulmates eyed each other. "I don't know, maybe 20-30 minutes after we touched?" Alya tapped a finger to her lips, trying to remember. "It was definitely before Ladybug and Chat Noir finished fighting the akuma."

Adrien raised an eyebrow, impressed, as he remembered the length of the fight yesterday. "Wow, that's really fast!"

"Ooooh- what are your soul animals?" Marinette bubbled. Adrien watched as their friends shared another meaningful glance, their expressions guarded.

"Oh," Marinette concluded, aware that her question might have been too much. "Nevermind. You don't have to answer that! I understand if you want to keep that between you two." She waved her hands in a placating gesture.

"No, I'm alright with it," Alya said. "My soul animal is a fox."

 _A fox?_ Adrien supposed that fit with what he knew of Alya. He then heard Marinette's sudden giggle. "Oh Alya, that's _so_ you."

Alya made a face, and everyone laughed.

"Nino, what about you?" Marinette inquired next. "You don't have to share if you don't want to."

"Uh, yeah. I think I'd like to keep that to myself for now." Nino adjusted his hat nervously, but calmed when Adrien and Marinette seemed to graciously accept his response with a nod each.

Adrien felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he observed Alya reaching over to squeeze Nino's hand again, this time smirking in his direction. "I'm not embarrassed…" Nino grumbled under his breath.

"Wait," Adrien said, comprehension dawning on his face, "are you guys talking with telepathy?"

"You could tell?" Nino asked, a bit shocked.

"You guys have telepathy?!" Marinette whisper-shouted, and Alya nodded with a giddy grin. "Ugh, that's so cool!"

Adrien considered Nino's question thoughtfully. "Your expressions kept changing even though you weren't actually talking. It was familiar to me, because my parents-" He cut himself off with a frown, reminded once again that his mother was gone. "My parents used to do that."

Everyone sent him sympathetic looks. "We could stop if it bugs you guys," Nino offered.

"Oh, no way! It's fine!" Adrien appreciated Nino's thoughtfulness, but he wasn't going to let them restrict that part of their relationship because of him. "I mean, it's a little weird being on the outside and not a part of your conversation, but this is a part of your soulmate bond. There's no way I would interfere!"

Marinette nodded along with him. "Yeah, I'm sure we'll get used to it soon."

"Thanks, dudes." Nino gave them a thumbs-up, appearing genuine in his words, but awkward due to his movement.

A pause in the conversation clued them in to their awaiting lunches, and everyone decided in that moment to dig in.

"So," Alya inquired, after swallowing quite a large bite of her sandwich. "Do you guys have any more questions?"

* * *

"You have fencing practice today, right?" Nino asked as he parted with Adrien on the front steps after school ended.

"Yeah, but I have a little time still. Why, is something on your mind?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so…" Nino trailed off, but Adrien patiently waited for him to collect his thoughts. "I wanted to tell you, uh, that my soul animal is a turtle."

Adrien's eyebrows raised in surprise before furrowing. "I thought you didn't want to tell anyone?"

Nino smiled half-heartedly. "I just felt like you needed to know, dude. You're my best bud. I trust you, and not telling you made me feel like I wasn't trusting you."

Adrien put a hand on Nino's shoulder. "Thank you for trusting me then. And just know that I wouldn't have thought less of you if you didn't tell me at all." Then a hint of a smirk appeared on the blonde's face. "By the way, your soul animal is _turtle-y_ awesome!"

"Dude!"

Adrien chuckled at Nino's mortified reaction. "Hey, I'm just saying! And, it's not like it's something to be ashamed of, it's just a part of who you are. Embrace your turtle-y-ness."

"Yeah, I guess." Nino looked thoughtful for a moment before eyeing Adrien again. "You know, this was what I was afraid of. My own best friend mocking me." He shook his head, mock-serious. "How dare you."

"How dare I?" Adrien asked innocently, pointing to himself. Then he turned smug. "Don't be so _slow_ on the uptake, bro."

Nino opened his mouth to respond in similar jest, but froze as the pun registered in his brain.

Adrien snickered as his best friend threw a hard glare at him. "What? Am I going too _fast_ for you?"

Their light-hearted moment was interrupted by an alarm on Adrien's phone. He sighed, loathe to leave so soon. "Gotta go. Like you said, fencing practice. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course, dude." They fist-bumped and turned their separate directions.

Adrien paused in his walking after a few seconds, feeling like he needed to say more. "Nino?"

The DJ looked back at him from a few steps down. "Yeah?"

Adrien looked down, fiddling with his bag awkwardly. "Uh, if you have anything else you want to talk about, just let me know, okay?" He glanced up to see an encouraging smile from Nino, causing him to smile confidently in return. "I'm here for you, anytime."

Nino was still for a moment before striding back up the steps in quick succession. Adrien, surprised at the abrupt bear-hug he received, almost didn't catch Nino's words.

"You're the best, Adrien."

* * *

"So, I just thought of something," Marinette interjected, as her and Alya walked the short distance to her house.

"Yeah?"

"If you and Nino are soulmates, doesn't that mean you have to report it to the DSA?"

Alya grimaced, stopping on the sidewalk in front of the bakery. "I forgot we had to do that." She sighed and opened the door, waving at Sabine at the register. "Why do we have to do that, again?"

"Well, isn't it because it helps with criminal investigations and stuff?" Marinette racked her brain, trying to remember the research from their soulmate project during the first week of school. "Like, if you committed a crime, or if a crime was committed again you, it's important for the government to know that you can turn into your soul animal. Depending on what yours is, they might do investigations differently."

Alya deflated a bit more as they walked through the bakery to the stairs of the apartment. "I think I remember there also being something about how it helps them calculate the soulmate matching rate correctly."

As they walked up the stairs, Marinette took in the mood of her best friend. "You really don't want to report it, do you?"

"No," Alya admitted. The girls walked into the apartment and headed towards the ladder to Marinette's room. "It feels like my personal space is going to be invaded. Like, I'm being forced to tell someone I don't want to tell. Who knows what the government will do with that information."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed, trying to sympathize with the blogger. "Maybe you could think of it like giving fingerprints? I mean, yeah, it's personal information you are giving out, but that could make it, I don't know, less intrusive?" At Alya's raised eyebrow, she blanched. "I mean, I don't want to assume of course! I've never been in your position, so-"

Alya laughed, stopping her best friend. "Mari, it's fine. Thanks for trying to help. I'll get over it." She and Marinette set their bags down near the chaise and sat down side-by-side. "It's just, all of this is so new, and I wish I had more time to figure out things with Nino instead of having to deal with logistics and other people interfering." Alya couldn't help but scowl at the end of that sentence.

Marinette frowned at her friend's bitterness and felt bad as she analyzed her own reaction to the news at lunch today. "I'm sorry if I'm one of those people interfering," she voiced, quietly.

"Oh no, girl, you're fine!" Alya reassured, engulfing her in a side-hug. "You're one of the people I wanted to tell."

"But I bugged you about it!"

"Yeah, so?" Alya shrugged as she pulled away from Marinette. "That's what friends do when they see their friends acting weird. Plus, it's not like I could keep it a secret from you anyway."

Marinette smiled at Alya's forgiving tone, relieved to know she hadn't damaged their relationship. "So, am I allowed to ask more questions?"

Alya rolled her eyes. "Of course, girl."

Marinette wiggled in her seat, becoming excited again. "What did it feel like? Touching him for the first time?"

Alya's eyebrows scrunched together in thought, taken back to the day before. "It was like… like everything was suddenly different; my eyes were opened to what I hadn't seen before. Literally something that was right in front of me, you know?"

Marinette nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"I mean, yeah, there was that spark feeling that people talk about. But it was more than just a physical sensation. It was like…" She paused for a second, trying to find the right words. "Okay, this is going to sound cheesy, but it's like my soul felt it, okay?"

Marinette giggled, and Alya rolled her eyes with a grin.

"And after that… well, it was a little awkward at first because we both _knew_ , but we found stuff to talk about, I guess. We couldn't really run away from each other even if we wanted to since we were trapped in the cage."

"So, after that you turned into your soul animals?"

"Yeah, but we were in our animal forms for only a minute or two before changing back." Alya shifted herself on the chaise, trying to sit comfortably while facing Marinette. "I remember it hurting when I changed into a fox, but it didn't when I changed back into human form. Isn't it only supposed to hurt the first time?"

Marinette shrugged. "I think that's what it said online."

Alya distractedly acknowledged her best friend's confirming words, still reflecting on the day before. Being a fox was a bit of a blur to her. She recalled that her vision had been slightly different, and that everything had felt larger in comparison due to her smaller body. She also remembered being the one to reach out to Nino when they turned back. It was hard to recall what it was like when they were only transformed for a minute or two. _We definitely need more time to explore that…_

"Oh! Could you change into your fox form right now, if you wanted to?" Marinette inquired, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm not sure," Alya answered. "I tried to transform last night, but I couldn't figure it out. I don't think I'll get the hang of it until I can try around Nino again."

"I suppose that makes sense," Marinette concurred. "It's only been a day." She paused for a second, tapping her fingers on her legs as she tried to think of another question. "Okay, so how do you feel about Nino being your soulmate?" She injected a bit of teasing into her tone. "Do you think you guys are going to start dating soon, or what?"

"I-" Alya paused and tried to analyze her feelings, reminded of her worries from the night before. "I don't know." At Marinette's confused but encouraging expression, Alya attempted to explain further. "I mean, it's Nino. He's a great guy, but I feel like I don't know him _that_ well. Like... like, what if he wants to start dating right away? What if he's all super romantic all of a sudden? What do I do?" She anxiously leaned her face into her hands, a coil of dread twisting inside her.

"Oh, Alya…" Marinette scooted closer to her best friend to give her a hug, or at least the best hug she could with Alya leaning in on herself. "I know it's scary, but everything's going to be alright. I mean, it's unfortunate that you don't know him that well. But hey! At least he isn't some random stranger. And-

"But he does feel like a stranger!" Alya confessed, jolting up to look back at Marinette. "Everything is just so new! I thought meeting my soulmate would be wonderful, but all it's done is left me so confused." She looked back down and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Today was nice, even though it was weird. But…" She trailed off an shook her head. "I don't know what to do or feel. I just- I just feel scared and-"

She was cut off by someone clearing their throat. Sabine could be seen standing through the open trap door to Marinette's room, holding a tray of cookies. "I am so sorry for interrupting, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," she said as she walked into the room and set down the tray on Marinette's desk. "Alya, sweetie, are you alright?"

"Um, uh-"

"Maman, Alya found her soulmate," Marinette answered, though a bit solemnly, sensing Alya's distress and hesitancy.

"And that's the cause of all this worry?" Sabine kneeled down in front of Alya and put a hand on her leg. "Sweetheart, you have all the time in the world to figure out your relationship. Don't try to rush your feelings. Right now, he is probably feeling just as confused as you are." She paused, rubbing a thumb across Alya's knee in a comforting gesture. "Both of you will have to get used to the new intimacy between you two and seeing each other in a new light. But it's okay to take your time. Don't let the world push you before you're ready, okay?"

Alya nodded silently at her words, looking down at her lap apprehensively.

"I've known Nino for a long time," Marinette pointed out, while squeezing Alya's shoulder in support. "Even though we've never been close, I don't think he's going to try to rush things with you. He's not that kind of person."

"And if you still feel uncomfortable, tell him," Sabine continued. "Communication, transparency, vulnerability- all of those are important, even between soulmates." She patted Alya's knee reassuringly. "I know it's scary and overwhelming. But you have people who are here for you, always. I'm sure Nino is there for you too. He's your soulmate. You two will be alright no matter how you decide to define your relationship."

Alya nodded again, and Marinette suspected that something was still up; Alya rarely ever displayed such a quiet demeanor. It was then that Marinette caught sight of a lone tear rolling down the other girl's face. "Oh, come here, you." Marinette tenderly wrapped her arms around her best friend and Alya leaned her head on the offered shoulder. A sob sounded through the room as she finally let her overwhelming emotions overtake her.

Sabine hopped up to get a box of tissues from Marinette's desk and set it on the chaise next to the girls. She quietly made her way out of the room, sensing that her job was done for now.

After a few minutes, Alya came back to herself, feeling a bit more at peace. She took a deep breath and let it out, then brought up a hand to move her hair away from tickling her nose.

"Hey," Marinette murmured. "You're okay, yeah?" Alya nodded, still leaning on the other girl's shoulder. She sniffed and sat up, her vision still a little blurry.

Marinette handed her a tissue. "Would you like help coming up with a game plan for Nino? Kind of like how you help me with Adrien?"

Alya laughed at that, albeit a bit shakily, and blew her nose into the tissue. "Sure, girl. You're the best."

"I try," Marinette said, dismissing the compliment with a wave of her hand.

"I don't know why I feel this way right now," Alya admitted, using another tissue to wipe her face. "I was fine when I was with him today. Yeah, sure it's been a bit awkward ever since we found out, but we were joking around, planning how to tell you guys during lunch, more at ease with each other than I expected, I guess. I don't know why I'm suddenly worried about all this."

"It sounds like you just need to be around him more," Marinette reassured, rubbing circles on the other girl's back. "Maybe you could get lunch with him tomorrow."

"But that sounds like a date," Alya argued.

"Well, yes, but think of it more like you are getting to know him," Marinette reasoned. "Before you decide to date someone, you try to hang out with them more and get to know them better, right? So, you can do that with Nino, and get to know him better before you officially define what your relationship is going to be. Then you can better decide when you want your soulmate bond to move into romance, if that's what you want." Marinette gave Alya another hug. "Like my mom said, you can always tell him to back off if things are moving too fast, right?"

Alya returned the hug and took a deep breath before responding. "Okay."

"Okay, what?" Marinette teased.

Alya rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile returning to her face. "Okay, I'll ask to have lunch with him tomorrow."

"Great!" Marinette pulled away to look her in the eyes and rubbed her shoulders in encouragement. "You got this, girl!"

* * *

Later that night, Alya closed the door to her younger sisters' room, breathing a sigh of relief. She then set about her nightly routine: getting into pajamas, brushing her teeth, and running a comb through her hair to get out any wayward tangles.

She returned to her room, smiling confidently. _I can do this._

She hopped onto her bed and crawled under the covers before whipping out her phone and navigating to a specific contact. She pressed the call button before she could overthink it, breathing deeply in preparation.

"Hey, Alya!"

"Hey, Nino. Would you like to get lunch together tomorrow?"

* * *

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


	18. Chapter 18: My Daughter is a Ladybug

**A/N: OKAY, so some of you have been DYING to find out what has been going on with ladybug Marinette. And I'm happy to tell you that today, you will finally find out!**

 **HOWEVER. If you need a refresher about what is going on in the "present," please feel free to revisit Chapters 1-3 and 7. Marinette's POV is specifically in Chapters 2 and 3.**

 **Honestly, I never intended for there to be over 10 chapters between the "present" chapters, but the mini-arc with Nino and Alya took a few more chapters than I was expecting, especially since I wanted to use their experiences/story as an example of how soulmates get together that aren't miraculous holders (yet, lol). Forgive me for the long delay!**

 **Now, without further adieu...**

* * *

CHAPTER 18: My Daughter is a Ladybug

This waiting was _agony_.

Marinette didn't know how much longer she could take. At first, she had just been mildly worried, hoping that Alya would see and respond to her message so that she could get her parents' attention and move on from there. But when Alya still hadn't answered after half an hour (something Marinette hadn't thought possible, because it was Alya), she had finally given up on staring at her tablet waiting for an answer. She settled for flying around in her new ladybug body to distract herself, and Tikki took the opportunity to play a game on the tablet to pass the time.

But even though she tried to distract herself with the freedoms of her new body, she couldn't help the _thoughts_. Waiting around gave her so much time to worry and stress out. Like, what if her parents couldn't be reached? Why wasn't Alya responding? Had something happened to her? Or, what if she _did_ see the message, but thought it was a joke? Marinette's wings fluttered in distress. _At this rate I'll be stuck as a ladybug forever!_

And who was her soulmate? Chat? Adrien? She didn't know! She had touched both of them within the last twenty-four hours, she was sure. Who knows how long it would be before they found each other again?

Horror coursed through her as another thought struck: what if an akuma attacked before she could change back?

 _Oh no! An akuma's going to attack and I won't be able to change into Ladybug and Tikki will have to fly downstairs to get my parents and blow my secret identity so that I can find my soulmate and save the day, but by then it'll be too late! Paris and my soulmate will hate me forever!_ Marinette whimpered in her mind, and would've pulled on her hair in stress if she were still in her human body.

Her mind went spiraling in agonizing circles for two hours. TWO HOURS of waiting for something- _anything-_ to happen. She simply couldn't do this anymore. _I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this._

Tikki finished playing a round of the game on the tablet and turned to where her holder was freaking out on the desk next to her. "Marinette, you need to calm down," she admonished, for the twentieth time that evening. "I can hear your nervous buzzing from all the way over here. Stop stressing; I'm sure everything will turn out to be fine." The kwami's encouraging words helped to balm Marinette's anxiety a little, even though the waiting was still torturous. "Do you want to try messaging Alya a fourth time?"

As Marinette was thinking that over, trying to ignore her emotions and think logically, steps were heard on the stairs below them. Tikki quickly hid in Marinette's nearby purse, and Marinette prepared to do everything in her power to get the attention of whoever came up.

It turned out to be her mom. Sabine opened the trapdoor, and took a few steps into the room, sighing. She placed Marinette's cell phone on the desk absently, lost in thought, unaware of Marinette's ladybug form. Glancing around the room, she walked over to the chaise and sat down, muttering, "Where are you, sweetie?"

Marinette huffed inside her head, frustrated beyond all belief. She was right here! How could she get her mom's attention?

The mother noticed her daughter's sketchbook sitting next to her on the chaise, and opened it, curious as to what Marinette had been designing recently. As Sabine flipped to a new page, Marinette flew over and landed on it.

"Oh," Sabine murmured, surprise on her face for a moment before she gently nudged the ladybug with one of her fingers. "Why hello there, little lady. How are you today? I hope your day is going better than mine… Hmm, maybe you'll be my little lucky charm that turns things around." She chuckled at her own joke, a sad smile on her face.

Marinette flew off her mother's finger, desperate to get her mother to realize who she was. Sabine watched her curiously as she rushed over to the desk again and landed on a photo of herself and Alya.

"Yes, little lady, that's my daughter." Her mother's somber expression grew as she sighed. "Did you know I was worried about her?"

As if to answer her mother's question, Marinette flew away from the photo only to land on it again, directly on her face this time. She did this a few more times, hoping to get her mother to realize it was her. Sabine's brow crinkled in confusion as she stared at the ladybug's eccentric actions.

A ringing sound suddenly sounded through the room, and the surprised but hopeful mother strode over to the desk, where Marinette's phone was lit up.

"Alya?"

"….."

"Whoa, honey! Slow down!"

"….."

"No, no, it's alright. Did you say you know where Marinette is? She messaged you?"

"….."

Sabine's eyes grew round at whatever Alya was telling her, eyes fixating on Marinette, who stayed still on the photo. "A ladybug…?" Her voice trailed off in wonder, her posture straightening in excitement. "Alya, I think she's right here! I think she's been home this entire time!" She rushed over to the open trapdoor. "Tom! Tom, get up here!"

Marinette could vaguely hear Alya freaking out on the other end of the phone as she repeated her actions of flying on and off the photo again and again. Her dad rushed up the stairs, only to see Sabine staring at the photo, her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Sweetheart? Is everything okay?"

"Tom," Sabine murmured, her gaze locked on Marinette.

He rushed to her side, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to look at him. "What happened?" he asked, seriously. Sabine simply gave him the phone, and seeing she was on a call with Alya, he decided to put it on speaker.

"Alya? What's going on?"

"Mr. Dupain-Cheng! Marinette- she's a ladybug! She found her soulmate!"

"What?" Tom watched his wife as she moved closer to the desk and offered a finger to the ladybug.

"She messaged me! She asked me to tell you guys because she probably couldn't figure out how to get your attention! I'm so sorry I didn't answer your call earlier; I was babysitting my sisters and left my phone in my room to charge-"

"It's alright, Alya," Marinette's father assured, enraptured by his wife and the ladybug now residing on her finger.

"I think it's really her, Tom," Sabine said, a laugh-sob of relief escaping her.

"Maybe try asking her to do something and see if she follows your directions?" Alya suggested, excited. "We have to know for sure that it's her!"

"Uh, right," Tom responded, his growing smiling halting for a bit. "Marinette, if you can hear me, can you go, uh, fly over to your tablet?" Marinette did so, and bright smiles appeared on her parents' faces.

"Now the chaise?" asked Sabine. "On your sketchbook?" Marinette did that too.

"Ooooh! Now go land on one of your pictures of Adrien, Mari!" came Alya's voice from the phone. All three of the humans laughed, and even though Marinette was embarrassed, she did as they asked, then quickly traveled back to the desk.

"It's really you," Sabine breathed, and Marinette did a loop in the air before landing on her mother's outstretched finger again. "And you've found your soulmate! Oh honey, this is so exciting!"

"I wonder who it is," Tom pondered, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Yeah, I wonder too," Alya agreed. "What's going to happen now?"

"We need to take her to the DSA," Sabine informed, turning more serious. "Even if Marinette knows who her soulmate is, we can't really communicate with her like this. Hopefully, she can reunite with her soulmate there."

"Good idea," Tom stated.

"Yeah," Alya acknowledged. "She would have to go there eventually to report it anyway, like I had to do with Nino. If she's transformed away from her soulmate, going there is probably your best bet."

"Okay, first we need to find a good way to transport Marinette," Sabine advised. "I'm worried we'll end up hurting her otherwise."

"Hmm… A cup? Or, maybe a jar, so you can see her?" Alya suggested.

"We have some empty jars down in the kitchen. I'll go get one!" With that, Tom set the phone down on Marinette's desk and hurried down the stairs.

"Alya, is there anything you think we should bring with us to the DSA?"

"I'm not sure, maybe just any items Marinette wants to bring?"

In response to their conversation, Marinette led her mom over to her purse; she wanted to make sure that Tikki and her other essentials were brought to the DSA with them. Her mom lifted the strap onto her shoulder, being careful to not hurt her daughter in the process.

"Okay, sweetie, I got your bag, anything else?" Marinette went over to the desk, landing next to her phone, which was still lit up with the call from Alya. Sabine nodded and picked it up, intending to put it in Marinette's purse when the call was done.

"I got the jar!" Tom bellowed, rushing up the stairs.

Sabine beamed at her husband's enthusiasm. "Time to go then?"

He nodded, and Alya spoke up from the phone again. "I hope everything goes well! I wish I could go with you guys, but I still have to babysit," she complained. "Marinette, I better get all the deets tomorrow! You hear me?" Tom and Sabine chucked fondly at their daughter's best friend before she addressed them again. "Keep me updated, okay?"

"Of course, Alya," Tom assured. "But for now, we have to get Mari to the DSA. We'll talk with you later!"

"Yeah, talk to you later!" And with a laugh, Alya hung up.

With a bit of coaxing from her parents, Marinette flew into the jar that her father had brought up, and after a quick rush to get a few more items around the house, they left for the DSA. The girl's wings fluttered as her excitement over finding her soulmate returned.

 _Just a little bit longer,_ Marinette reassured herself. _Everything's going to be fine._

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading and let me know what you think of this chapter!**

 **Also, unfortunately I don't have anything written after this chapter, so it may be awhile before more is up, but the next few chapters have been meticulously planned, and the rest of the story is outlines fairly well! It may take a while, but I WILL finish this story!**

 **Starlin's Ghost**

 ***Edited 11/25/19***


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